The hydroxylation of biphenyl by Aspergillus toxicarius: Conditions for a bench scale fermentation process

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Abstract
Fungi of the Aspergillus sp. can hydroxyate biphenyl to 4,4′‐dihydroxybiphenyl, a chemical intermediate used in the plastics industry. The authors studied various batch culture conditions for the production of 4,4′‐dihydroxybiphenyl, by Aspergillus toxicarius, in 25‐mL shake flasks and 2‐L fermenter cultures. Conditions investigated included temperature, aeration, carbon and nitrogen sources, biomass content, and time of substrate addition. Under optimum conditions we observed a rate of 4,4′‐dihydroxybiphenyl production of 15–20 mg/day/g dry wt mycelia. Such a production rate is probably too low to support a commercial process and possible reasons for the low productivity are discussed.