Feasible Improvements of the Butanol Production by Clostridium Acetobutylicum (original) (raw)

Abstract

Butanol as a fermentation product was discovered by Pasteur (7) in 1862 and the formation of acetone by a “Rottebacillus” was described by Schardinger (9) in 1905. Later a fermentation process for the production of acetone and butanol from carbohydrates was patented (4). Thereafter, Weizmann (13) isolated Clostridium acetobutylicum which was especially suitable for the production of these solvents from corn starch. A number of factories were operated on the basis of this fermentation in various countries. With the increasing availability of low-cost petrochemical raw materials and the growth of the chemical industries the fermentation process became uneconomical in industrialized countries and was discontinued. At present only a few plants are in operation, mostly in agricultural countries. Excellent reviews on the development of this process and on its operation have been published (2, 8, 10).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Mikrobiologie, Universität Göttingen, Grisebachstrasse 8, D-3400, Göttingen, West Germany
    Gerhard Gottschalk & H. Bahl

Authors

  1. Gerhard Gottschalk
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  2. H. Bahl
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Associated Universities, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA
    Alexander Hollaender

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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York

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Gottschalk, G., Bahl, H. (1981). Feasible Improvements of the Butanol Production by Clostridium Acetobutylicum . In: Hollaender, A., Rabson, R., Rogers, P., Pietro, A.S., Valentine, R., Wolfe, R. (eds) Trends in the Biology of Fermentations for Fuels and Chemicals. Basic Life Sciences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3980-9\_27

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