Optimization of Citric Acid Production from a New Strain and Mutant of Aspergillus niger Using Solid State Fermentation

Abstract

A new strain of Aspergillus niger isolated from soil and its mutant were used for citric acid production from carob under solid-state fermentation conditions. The parental strain produced 30 g/kg citric acid, while the mutant G4, selected after four rounds of gamma ray irradiation, produced 60 g/kg. Maximum citric acid production was obtained after 7 days of incubation, as the acid production was 34 and 64 g/kg for parental and mutant strains, respectively. The addition of 2% methanol increased citric acid production from the parental strain to 42 and the mutant G4 to 65 g/kg. Trace elements, namely Cu, Fe, and Zn, promoted the production of citric acid as the acid production from the parental strain increased to 46 g/kg and for mutant G4 increased to 73 g/kg after their addition. The optimum spore inoculum concentration for acid production was 10⁷ ml⁻¹, and the optimum pH was 5 for both parental and mutant strains.

Key Words:

• citric acid
• solid-state fermentation
• Aspergillus niger
• mutant