Assessing the succinic acid production capabilities of <i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i> using industrial feedstocks

Abstract BACKGROUND The study focuses on succinic acid production in synthetic and industrial media using wild type Corynebacterium glutamicum , a known carboxylic acid producer. The South African sugar industry is facing many challenges, largely due to increased competition and the implementation of a sugar levy, which has resulted in a decrease in demand. Sugarcane material was selected as a cheap and abundant carbon source to assess the succinic acid production capabilities of C. glutamicum . RESULTS Small‐scale flask studies (700 mL) showed that glucose was the favorable sugar source when compared to xylose, recording a maximum value of 18.87 ± 1.27 g L −1 succinic acid. Evaluation of the industrial small‐scale flask studies concluded that molasses was the top‐performing sugarcane material in comparison to the sugarcane juice, reaching a succinic acid concentration of 20.31 ± 0.75 g L −1 . The productivities achieved in the small‐scale studies when using molasses was 0.56 g L −1 h −1 , which was less than that recorded for the glucose‐based media, at 0.67 g L −1 h −1 , which was an expected outcome due to the complexity of the molasses. These studies were then successfully scaled up to 30 L biostat reactors, where the fermentations were run to mimic the micro‐aerobic conditions experienced in the flasks but in a more controlled environment. CONCLUSION The highest concentration of produced succinic acid was obtained when using molasses as the carbon source, reaching a maximum of 28.89 ± 0.10 g L −1 . The study recognizes the potential for the South African sugar industry to diversify its product offerings through the adoption of biochemical production. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).