Production of Itaconic Acid at Laboratory & Bench Scale

Itaconic acid (IA) is a promising organic acid with a wide range of applications and the potential to open up new application fields in the area of polymer chemistry pharmacy and agriculture. In this study a systematic process optimization was performed with an Aspergillus terreus MTCC 479 strain obtained from Institute of Microbial TechnologyChandigarhIndia.An efficient and low cost process is established for production of Itaconic acid utilizing cheap raw materials that can be helpful in improving the process economics to produce the acid efficiently while performed at pilot scale. Similarly other cheap raw materials can also be utilized. Itaconic acid concentration was increased up to 2-3 times after purification by solvent extraction method which is an inexpensive technique for purification which can be used for large scale operations. All the physical parameters such as pHTemperatureDissolved oxygen(DO)etc. are optimized in present study.