Efficient malic acid production from glycerol with Ustilago trichophora TZ1.

Background The large surplus of crude glycerol, as main low-value waste stream in biodiesel production, has led to the investigation of new possibilities for the production of value-added chemicals from this feedstock. New and efficient (bio-) catalysts are needed that are able to convert glycerol to versatile chemical building blocks. This would contribute to further develop away from a mainly petroleum based, to a sustainable, bio-based industry. One promising group of discussed building block chemicals are dicarbonic acids.