GB496661A - Improvements in or relating to the production of butyl alcohol and associated products by fermentation - Google Patents

Abstract

Corn meal, sugar, e.g. molasses or hydrol, or other carbohydrate mashes are fermented to produce butyl alcohol, acetone and ethyl alcohol by an organism named Clostridium granulobacter acetobutylicum. Its characteristics are specified, among them being that for high solvent production in mashes having a sugar concentration of about 7 per cent, vegetable protein nitrogen (other than corn meal) is necessary as well as inorganic nitrogen, and that it does not liquefy gelatine or ferment glycerol. The optimum temperature for fermentation is 28 to 33 DEG C. and the optimum initial pH is 6,0 to 6,8. A culture may be prepared by heat-shocking from sugar corn ear by cultivating at 30 DEG C. for 72 hrs. in a 10 per cent molasses medium containing calcium carbonate and ammonium chloride, pouring the culture into further hot fresh medium of the same composition and cooling rapidly. After 24 hours, the culture was plated on to nutrient agar containing 2 per cent sucrose and incubated at 30 DEG C. for 48 hours. Colonies were then incubated at 30 DEG C. for four days to ensure sporulation, the spores being capable of being stored for several months in a refrigerator. The final inoculum may be prepared by heat-shocking into a molasses mash and further p culture. The vegetable protein used as a nitrogen source may be corn gluten feed, corn germ oil meal, corn gluten meal, or steep water. The relative proportion of solvents produced is 60 to 75 per cent butyl alcohol, 25 to 30 per cent acetone and 1 to 10 per cent ethyl alcohol.