Perspectives on carboxylates generation from Ecuadorian agro-wastes

Abstract

Carboxylates generation from banana (peel and pulp), coffee, and cacao fermentation agro-waste, upon uncontrolled and controlled pHs of 6.6 (heat-driven methanogens inactivation) and 5.2 (pH inactivation), was studied. Regarding volatile fatty acids (VFAs), acetic was the highest for cocoa (96.2 g kg^-1_TVS) at pH 4.5. However, butyric was relevant for banana pulp (90.7 g kg^-1_TVS), at controlled pH 6.6. The highest medium chain fatty acid (MCFAs) level was hexanoic (cocoa, 3.5 g kg^-1_TVS), while octanoic reached a maximum of 2.8 g kg^-1_TVS for coffee at pH 6.6. At pH 5.2 MCFAs yield was relatively low. Uncontrolled pH conditions, using banana resulted in superior VFAs production compared to controlled conditions. Thus, pH became a determining variable when deciding the time and kind of carboxylic acid to be recovered. The bacterial community at the end of the chain elongation process was dominated by phyla Firmicutes, and Clostridium as the most common genera.

Keywords: Agro-wastes; Anaerobic fermentation; Medium chain fatty acids; Molecular analysis; Volatile fatty acids.