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US 8,541,210 B2Granted
Producing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from biodiesel-derived crude glycerol
AssigneeVirginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
InventorsZhiyou Wen, Sneba Athalye
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Abstract
Pythium, when cultured with crude glycerol as a carbon source, produces useful polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The crude glycerol is pretreated to remove soaps and methanol. An exemplary Pythium species for use in the production of EPA is Pythium irregulare.
Claims10
A method of producing an eicosapentaenoic acid-rich biomass from crude waste glycerol, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing crude waste glycerol in a culture medium;
- and
- culturing Pythium in the culture medium under conditions that permit the Pythium to use the crude glycerol in the medium as a carbon source to yield a eicosapentaenoic acid-rich biomass,
- wherein the Pythium eicosapentaenoic acid-rich biomass has a total lipids content of at least about 15 weight percent and the crude glycerol is substantially free of soaps and methanol.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.