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Production and upgrading of lactic acid: an overview and future prospects

Before an end of fossil fuels reserves is reached renewable raw materials are expected to become acceptable alternative resources for efficient and sustainable production of energy, transportation fuels, chemicals and materials. Sequential transformation of renewables to intermediates and conversion of intermediates thereof to a range of products require development and implementation of novel manufacturing routes. Production of lactic acid (2-hydroxypropanoic acid) as a very promising intermediate and its upgrading to numerous added-value chemicals and biodegradable poly(lactic acid) offer a valuable model that can be used to accelerate production of other intermediates and their modifications to marketable products. Current industrial production of D- and/or L-lactate rely on (in)direct utilization of polymeric carbohydrates by fast growing acidotolerant moderately thermophilic bacterial strains. Full metabolic capacity of those traditional industrial microorganisms has rarely been considered or even employed in a large scale. Such unsustainable fermentations followed by cost-inefficient downstream processing crave for substantial improvements. Deployment of extremophiles in the fermentations is chalenging and it has to be taken into account. Promising but enviromentaly unfriendly routes for chemocatalytic conversion of different substrates to lactic acid in aqueous solution have potential to compete with advanced biotransformations. The best manufacturing routes will play crucial role in biorefineries.

lactic acid, production, upgrading, biorafineries

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