Abstract
The medium for erythritol production by Torula sp. in a 500-ml baffled flask was optimized to be 300 g/I sucrose, 10 g/I yeast extract, 3 g/I $KH_2PO_4$, and 10 mg/I $CuSO_4{\cdot}5H_2O{\;}at{\;}34^{\circ}C$ with initial pH of 5.5. Using this optimal medium, erythritol of 166 g/I was obtained after 140 h of cultivation, corresponding to 55.3% of the erythritol yield from sucrose with a productivity of 1.11 g/I/h. Optimal concentrations of carbbon and nitrogen sources in a fermentor were higher than that in a flask due to the higher oxygen supply of the fermentor. Employing the medium containing 300 g/I or 400 g/I sucrose for the determination of optimal C/N ratio, the C/N ratio was found to be more important than the nitrogen concentration for effective erythritol production, The optimal ratio of yeast extract to sucrose (g/g) was 20. The yield and productivity of erythritol were maximal in the medium containing 400 g/I sucrose and 20 g/I yeast extract. when dissolved oxygen in the culture was increased, the cell mass increased but the erythritol production was manimal in the range of 5 to 10% of dissolved oxygen. Under the optimal the rane of 5 to 10% of dissolved oxygen. Under the optimal culture condition of the fermentor, a final erythritol concentration of 200 gI was obtained after 120 h with a yield of 50% and the productivity was 1.67 g/I/h. The yield was the highest among erythritol-producting microorganisms