Overproduction of rhamnolipid by fed-batch cultivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a lab-scale fermenter under tight DO control

Rhamnolipids are one of the most well-known classes of biosurfactants having wide applications in various industries due to low toxicity, high biodegradability, and environmentally friendly. Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration has the crucial effect on rhamnolipids production, particularly through fed-batch cultivation. In this study, the effect of different levels of DO concentrations on rhamnolipid production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in both batch and fed-batch fermentation was investigated in a lab-scale fermenter under precise DO control. A maximal rhamnolipid production of 22.5 g/l was obtained at a DO concentration of 40% in batch fermentation. In order to achieve the high rhamnolipid production, a fed-batch operation under tight DO control of 40% was conducted. As a result, the overall rhamnolipid production and productivity reached to 240 g/l and 0.9 (g/l h), corresponding to a 10.7 and 4.8-fold improvement compared to the batch experiments. The high level of rhamnolipid production via the fed-batch cultivation can be attributed to both DO concentration and the feeding strategy. This achievement is promising for the production of rhamnolipid in industrial scale.