Polymer grade l-lactic acid production from sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate using Bacillus coagulans

Abstract Lactic acid has applications in many different sectors such as food, chemicals and polymers. Its production from lignocellulosic materials has been highlighted as a possibility to overcome barriers in the production chain such as decreasing process costs and reaching better environmental performance, besides adding value to biomass. However, the needed pre-treatment that lignocellulosic material goes through to release fermentable sugars also produces inhibitor compounds for the microorganisms, such as HMF and furfural. In this work, a Bacillus coagulans strain is evaluated as an l -lactic acid producer using sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate. l -Lactic acid production reached 55.99 g/L, 0.87 g/g of yield, 1.7 g/ L h −1 of productivity and 99.4% of isomeric purity. Simultaneous bio-detoxification removed 100% of HMF and furfural without any treatment prior. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that B. coagulans is used to lactic acid production and bio-detoxification tests.