Bioreactor design for obtaining acetic acid from wine of cocoa mucilage (theobroma cacao l.)

Investigation article

Abstract

The present work investigated the feasibility of obtaining acetic acid from the cocoa mucilage wine, which consisted of developing a small-scale acetifier, starting from the national cocoa mucilage wine as a substrate through a submerged fermentation and using as inoculum culture "mother of vinegar". The vinegar was obtained by an oxidative fermentation of the alcohol present in the wine. The initial characteristics of the substrate were characterized (% Alcohol = 18% (v / v) pH = 5.2 acidity = 8.1 g / L), establishing the optimal conditions for acetic fermentation. 1.5 L / min of O2 was supplied for 3 hours a day, evaluating the effect on the production of acetic acid (g / L) for 12 days. The highest production of acetic acid 18.37 g / L, having a yield of 9% in the production of acid while obtaining a yield of 59% in the production of biomass. It was concluded that the acetic fermentation given to cocoa mucilage wine with an O2 exposure time of 1.5 L / min for 3 hours a day, produces a low yield of acetic acid.

Keywords: Acetic acid; fermentation; mucilage; Theobroma Cacao L.