Upcycling waste apples into platform chemicals: pilot-scale production of lactic and succinic acids

Upcycling waste apples into platform chemicals: pilot-scale production of lactic and succinic acids | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Upcycling waste apples into platform chemicals: pilot-scale production of lactic and succinic acids Laís Portugal Rios da Costa Pereira, Roland Schneider, Agata Olszewska-Widdrat, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9412912/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The conversion of renewable biological resources into value-added products is essential for supporting the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. This study explores the use of waste apples—a byproduct generated in large quantities along the fresh apple supply chain—as feedstock for the production of two industrially relevant platform chemicals: lactic acid (LA) and succinic acid (SA). A screening identified Heyndrickxia coagulans A203 and Actinobacillus succinogenes DSM 22257 as the most suitable strains for LA and SA production from apple biomass. A simplified procedure, omitting costly centrifugation and sterilization steps between enzymatic liquefaction and fermentation, was successfully scaled up, resulting in 73.8 g∙L − 1 LA with a yield of 0.91 g∙g − 1 and 36.8 g∙L − 1 SA with a yield of 0.69 g∙g − 1 . The results demonstrate the potential of waste apples as a low-cost, effective feedstock for the biotechnological production of high-value platform chemicals, contributing to the valorization of agri-food waste within a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. fermentation lactic acid pilot scale succinic acid waste to value Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 27 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 18 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9412912","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633419674,"identity":"d01803fe-29be-4af3-9eb6-e32edcce9ee3","order_by":0,"name":"Laís Portugal Rios da Costa Pereira","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Kassel","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laís","middleName":"Portugal Rios da Costa","lastName":"Pereira","suffix":""},{"id":633419675,"identity":"038ca787-503d-4e98-847f-02578733affe","order_by":1,"name":"Roland Schneider","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Leibniz Institute for 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Bioproducts","twitterHandle":"@BioMedCentral","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"fermentation, lactic acid, pilot scale, succinic acid, waste to value","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9412912/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9412912/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe conversion of renewable biological resources into value-added products is essential for supporting the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. This study explores the use of waste apples\u0026mdash;a byproduct generated in large quantities along the fresh apple supply chain\u0026mdash;as feedstock for the production of two industrially relevant platform chemicals: lactic acid (LA) and succinic acid (SA). A screening identified \u003cem\u003eHeyndrickxia coagulans\u003c/em\u003e A203 and \u003cem\u003eActinobacillus succinogenes\u003c/em\u003e DSM 22257 as the most suitable strains for LA and SA production from apple biomass. A simplified procedure, omitting costly centrifugation and sterilization steps between enzymatic liquefaction and fermentation, was successfully scaled up, resulting in 73.8 g∙L\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e LA with a yield of 0.91 g∙g\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and 36.8 g∙L\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e SA with a yield of 0.69 g∙g\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. The results demonstrate the potential of waste apples as a low-cost, effective feedstock for the biotechnological production of high-value platform chemicals, contributing to the valorization of agri-food waste within a sustainable and circular bioeconomy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Upcycling waste apples into platform chemicals: pilot-scale production of lactic and succinic acids","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-05 17:18:21","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9412912/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290229986690587268130896104643414781159","date":"2026-05-02T16:41:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"149052717270415899993418361373027198899","date":"2026-04-27T06:55:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-27T04:05:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-18T08:28:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-18T08:28:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts","date":"2026-04-14T08:44:12+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"biotechnology-for-biofuels-and-bioproducts","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"bbio","sideBox":"Learn more about [Biotechnology for Biofuels](http://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"13068","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/13068/3","title":"Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts","twitterHandle":"@BioMedCentral","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b66b1d88-ca7f-4069-8f59-769afb3be399","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 5th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"290229986690587268130896104643414781159","date":"2026-05-02T16:41:12+00:00","index":19,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-05T17:18:21+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-05 17:18:21","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9412912","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9412912","identity":"rs-9412912","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}