Research Article
Gopinadh R, Ayyanna C, Rama
Abstract
Statistical experimental design was employed for the improvement of citric acid production from Madhuca indica through submerged fermentation process using mutant fungi Aspergillus niger MTCC 282. Efficient production of citric acid by mutant Aspergillus niger MTCC 282 grown on a sugar rich byproduct requires the supplementation of the optimized quantities of nutrients. Optimization of chemical parameters for the production of citric acid was done by Box-Behnken design. Box-Behnken design was used to statistically compare different combinations of four different nutrients, namely Ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4), Magnesium (Mg2+), Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) and Potassium phosphate (KH2PO4), for the maximum production of citric acid. The optimum nutrient concentrations obtained using the Box-Behnken design were Ammonium sulphate ((NH4)2SO4) 0.2138 g/l, Magnesium (Mg2+) 0.1896 g/l, Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) 0.3968 g/l and Potassium phosphate (KH2PO4)3 g/l. Under the optimum conditions, mutant Aspergillus niger MTCC 282 produced the maximum citric acid of 75 g/l of citric acid/ kg substrate at pH 4.