Continuous Production of Citric Acid from Dairy Wastewater Using Immobilized Aspergillus niger ATCC 9142

The continuous production of citric acid from dairy wastewater was investigated using calcium-alginate immobilized Asrergillus niger ATCC 9142. The citric acid productivity and yield were strongly affected by the culture conditions. The optimal pH, temperature, and dilution rate were 3.0, 30$^{\circ}C$, and 0.025 h$\^$-1/, respectively. Under optimal culture conditions, the maximum productivity, concentration, and yield of citric acid produced by the calcium-alginate immobilized Aspergillus niger were 160 mg L$\^$-1/ h$\^$-1/, 4.5 g/L, and 70.3%, respectively, The culture was continuously perfored for 20 days without any apparent loss in citric acid productivity. Conversely, under the same conditions with a batch shake-flask culture, the maximum productivity, citric acid concentration, and yield were only 63.3 mg L$\^$-1/h$\^$-1/, 4.7 g/L and 51.4%, respectively, Therefore, the results suggest that the bioreactor used in this study could be potentially used for continuous citric acid production from dairy wastewater by applying calcium-alginate immobilized Aspergillus niger.