Succinic acid production from n-alkanes

A novel process of production of succinic acid (SA) has been developed, which includes the synthesis of alpha-ketoglutaric acid by a thiamine-auxotrophic yeast strain Yarrowia lipolytica VKM Y-2412 from n-alkanes and subsequent oxidation of the acid by hydrogen peroxide to SA. The concentration of SA in the culture broth and its yield were found to be 38.8 g/L and 82.45% of n-alkane consumed, respectively. The isolation procedure involved the extraction of the residual alkanes with the mixture of ethyl acetate and hexane, the decomposition of H2O2 in the filtrate followed by filtrate bleaching and acidification with a mineral acid; the evaporation of filtrate and the ethanol extraction of SA from lyophilized residue. The purity of the SA isolated from the culture liquid filtrate reached 99.5%.