Upgrading Corn Stover Pretreatment Wastes into Biodiesel Via Oleaginous Rhodococci

The derivation of advance biofuels and specialty oils from agricultural waste streams via oleaginous bacteria is a rapidly developing biotechnology primed for both bioenergy and biochemical sectors. However, finding viable effluents and promising microbes that produce an array of tangible oils for subsequent targeting is a current challenge. Here, we examine and compare alkaline and alkaline-peroxide pretreatments of corn stover as a feedstock for three strains of wild-type Rhodococci. In comparison, R. opacus DSM 1069 and PD 630 exhibited aggressive degradation of low molecular weight aromatics and glucose monomers compared to R. jostii, resulting in heightened viability and improved yields. Interestingly, all three strains yielded oils that could be implemented as a fungible diesel post-transesterification or utilized as a specialty oil for novel biochemical/bio-pharmaceutical applications. Overall, this work presents a novel method for waste stream optimization for bio-refineries.