Production of vinegar using edible alcohol as feedstock through high efficient biotransformation by acetic acid bacteria

In this paper, an optimal semi-continuous process for vinegar production from edible alcohol through biotransformation by acetic acid bacteria (AAB) WUST-01 was developed. The optimized medium composition for the starting-up stage was glucose 5.1 g/L, yeast extract 26.2 g/L, and ethanol 11.9 mL/L, and the optimal ethanol for the following semi-continuous stage was 50 mL/L. In the semi-continuous biotransformation process, the optimal withdraw ratio was 50% of working volume with 12 h cycle time. With these conditions, the total acidity could reach to 77.3 g/L and the acidity productivity could reach to 3.0 g/(L h) in a 5 L reactor. Furthermore, it was investigated to strengthen vinegar synthesis through enhancing alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activity in AAB by ferrous ion and pueraria flower extract as the enzyme regulators. With these regulators, the vinegar synthesis efficiency can be improved 16.3 and 13.2% respectively.