Production of hydrocarbons by Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010

• Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 was tested for hydrocarbon production.
• Hydrocarbons produced by A. carbonarius varied with different carbon based media.
• A. carbonarius favored oatmeal for the most diverse hydrocarbon production.
• A. carbonarius produced several hydrocarbons with lignocellulosic biomass based media.
• Hydrocarbons produced by A. carbonarius have a great potential for future biofuel.

The filamentous fungus, Asperigillus carbonarius, is able to produce a series of hydrocarbons in liquid culture using lignocellulosic biomasses, such as corn stover and switch grass as carbon source. The hydrocarbons produced by the fungus show similarity to jet fuel composition and might have industrial application. The production of hydrocarbons was found to be dependent on type of media used. Therefore, ten different carbon sources (oat meal, wheat bran, glucose, carboxymethyl cellulose, avicel, xylan, corn stover, switch grass, pretreated corn stover, and pretreated switch grass) were tested to identify the maximum number and quantity of hydrocarbons produced. Several hydrocarbons were produced include undecane, dodecane, tetradecane, hexadecane 2,4-dimethylhexane, 4-methylheptane, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl benzene, o-xylene. Oatmeal was found to be the carbon source resulting in the largest amounts of hydrocarbon products. The production of fungal hydrocarbons, especially from lignocellulosic biomasses, holds a great potential for future biofuel production whenever our knowledge on regulators and pathways increases.