Abstract— Citricacid is one of the most important organic acids manufactured in bulk quantitydue to its widespread usage in food and pharmaceutical industries as acidulantand preservative. Though, it is very common to produce citric acid using fungi(Aspergillus niger) from different sources of carbohydrates, such as molassesand starch based media, in this present research work an attempt has been madeto isolate citric acid from sugarcane molasses from Wonji sugar factory,Ethiopia using baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by submerged fermentation. During the isolation process variousnutrients required have been calculated carefully and added. Also maintained atemperature of 26 ±1 oC, Oxygen in excess of 25% than the saturationlevel with a constant stirring at a pH of 5. The fermentation process wascarried out for 6 days. At the end, citric acid crystals were isolated,purified and characterized by using appropriate techniques mentioned in theliterature. Finally, mass balance was also carried out for the entire processand values were reported.
Keywords: Citric acid; Yeast; Saccharomycescerevisiae; Molasses; Mass balance