RESUMO
The increasing rise in the production of meat around the world causes a significant generation of agro-industrial waste--most of it with a low value added. Fatty wastes have the potential of being converted into biodiesel, given the overcome of technological and economical barriers, as well as its presentation in solid form. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the capacity of Staphylococcus xylosus strains to modify the chemical structure of chicken fatty wastes intending to reduce the melting points of the wastes to mild temperatures, thereby breaking new ground in the production of biodiesel from these sources in an economically attractive and sustainable manner. The effects in time of fermentation and concentration of the fat in the medium were investigated, assessing the melting point and profile of fatty acids. The melting temperature showed a decrease of approximately 22 °C in the best operational conditions, due to reduction in the content of saturated fatty acids (high melting point) and increase of unsaturated fatty acids (low melting point).