RESUMO
The importance of non-Saccharomyces yeast species in fermentation processes is widely acknowledged. Within this group, Pichia kudriavzevii ITV-S42 yeast strain shows particularly desirable characteristics for ethanol production. Despite this fact, a thorough study of the metabolic and kinetic characteristics of this strain is currently unavailable. The aim of this work is to study the nutritional requirements of Pichia kudriavzevii ITV-S42 strain and the effect of different carbon sources on the growth and ethanol production. Results showed that glucose and fructose were both assimilated and fermented, achieving biomass and ethanol yields of 0.37 and 0.32 gg-1, respectively. Glycerol was assimilated but not fermented; achieving a biomass yield of 0.88 gg-1. Xylose and sucrose were not metabolized by the yeast strain. Finally, the use of a culture medium enriched with salts and yeast extract favored glucose consumption both for growth and ethanol production, improving ethanol tolerance reported for this genre (35 g L-1) to 90 g L-1 maximum ethanol concentration (over 100%). Furthermore Pichia kudriavzevii ITV-S42 maintained its fermentative capacity up to 200 g L-1 initial glucose, demonstrating that this yeast is osmotolerant.