A eucalyptus hemicellulose fraction was hydrolysed by treating eucalyptus wood chips with sulfuric acid. The hydrolysate was used as the substrate to grow Paecilomyces variotii IOC-3764 cultured for 72 or 96 hours. The influence of the inhibitors, nutrients and fermentation time was verified by a 28-4 and, subsequently, a 25-1 fractional factorial design. The effects of the inhibitors (acetic acid and furfural), nutrients (rice bran, urea, potassium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, magnesium sulfate and sodium phosphate) and fermentation time were investigated. The highest yield (10.59 g/L of biomass) was obtained when the microorganisms were cultivated for 72 hours in a medium composed of 30 g/L rice bran, 9.4 g/L ammonium sulfate (2 g/L nitrogen) and 2 g/L sodium phosphate.
Fermentation; experimental design; fractional factorial; xylose; glucose; acetic acid; furfural; nutrients