Optimum Conditions for the Biological Production of Lactic Acid by a Newly Isolated Lactic Acid Bacterium, Lactobacillus sp. RKY2

Lactic acid is a green chemical that can be used as a raw material for biodegradable polymer. To produce lactic acid through microbial fermentation, we previously screened a novel lactic acid bacterium. In this work, we optimized lactic acid fermentation using a newly isolated and homofermentative lactic acid bacterium. The optimum medium components were found to be glucose, yeast extract, $(NH_4)_{2}HPO_4,\;and\;MnSO_4$. The optimum pH and temperature for a batch culture of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 was found to be 6.0 and $36^{\circ}C$, respectively. Under the optimized culture conditions, the maximum lactic acid concentration (153.9 g/L) was obtained from 200 g/L of glucose and 15 g/L of yeast extract, and maximum lactic acid productivity ($6.21\;gL^{-1}h^{-1}$) was obtained from 100 g/L of glucose and 20 g/L of yeast extract. In all cases, the lactic acid yields were found to be above 0.91 g/g. This article provides the optimized conditions for a batch culture of Lactobacillus sp. RKY2, which resulted in highest productivity of lactic acid.