Abstract
Currently, lactic acid (LA) is being widely utilized in food industry, chemical industry and poly (lactic acid) synthesis. However, the search for the most favorable fermentation conditions is still desired for the successful commercial development of cost competitive processes. In this work, the effects of temperature on LA batch fermentation from glucose by Lactobacillus pentosus (L. pentosus) were studied. In batch fermentation of pH 6.0, the optimal temperature is 35 °C (agitation speed at 150 rpm, and air flow rate at 25 mL/min), and lower temperature leads to better cell growth while higher temperature results in more efficient glucose utilization and more productive LA generation. A kinetic model was developed to properly simulate batch LA production at 35 °C and pH 6.0 from glucose by L. pentosus.