Sustainable production of yeast oil from rice straw hydrolysate by Pseudozyma parantarctica through fed-batch cultivation for bio-polyurethane foam formation

Rice straw serves as an alternative feedstock for yeast oil (YO) production and bio-polyurethane (BPU) foam formation. This study optimized yeast growth and YO production by Pseudozyma parantarctica, utilizing rice straw hydrolysate (RSH) as the primary carbon source. Fed-batch strategies were explored to enhance YO production efficiency and its conversion into BPU foam. The optimized conditions proved highly effective in yielding biomass and YO from RSH-OPM. The fed-batch approach significantly improved biomass, YO production, and oil content to 7.35 ± 0.18 g/L, 3.77 ± 0.09 g/L, and 51.21 ± 0.15 % (w/w), respectively. The main fatty acid (FA) compositions of YO consisted of C:16 to C:18 FAs for over 92 %. RSH-based YO was successfully transformed into both rigid and semi-rigid BPU foams. This research demonstrated the feasibility and potential of using RSH as a low-cost and renewable carbon source for YO production and BPU foam formation.