Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have extensive industrial applications as producers of lactic acid, as probiotics, as biocontrol agents and as biopreservatives. LAB play a large role in food fermentation and in silage processes, where crops such as grass, legumes, cereals or corn are fermented into high-moisture feed that is storable and can be used to feed cattle, sheep or other ruminants. LAB also have great applications within green biorefineries, with simultaneous production of protein-rich feed for monogastric animals, silage or feed pellets for ruminants and production of lactic acid or specific amino acids. In green biorefineries, fresh or ensiled wet biomass is mechanically fractionated into green juice and solid residues (press cake), where the plant... |