USE OF CRUDE GLYCERIN FROM WASTE COOKING OIL BIODIESEL FOR THE CULTIVATION OF THE FUNGUS ASPERGILLUS NIGER

Abstract

Glycerin has been generated in large quantities as a byproduct of biodiesel production. This study aimed to evaluate the development of the fungi Aspergillus niger on medium containing glycerin from biodiesel and to compare it with that obtained in media with glycerol and sucrose, a raw material used in microbial industrial process. The glycerin was obtained by transesterification of waste cooking oil with ethanol and used without any previous purification. The microbial growth in glycerin was comparable to that obtained with sucrose and bigger than that obtained with glycerol. This impure glycerin proved to be a suitable raw material for Aspergillus niger biotechnological process. Technological use of these two environmental liabilities, glycerin and residual cooking oil, contributes to reduce the environmental and economic impacts of their generation and disposal.