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Title: Fermentative production of butanol from sorghum molasses as a potential agricultural fuel. Final report, June 26, 1981-September 25, 1982

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6398375

A strain, Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 4259, suitable for butanol-acetone fermentation of sorghum molasses was selected from several strains of the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). It was cultivated in the composition-optimized sorghum molasses medium. The microbial growth and sugar consumption pattern in the sorghum molasses medium exhibited a typical diauxie phenomenon. The results strongly suggest that the difficulty encountered by the Weizmann type of organisms in butanol-acetone fermentation of molasses is due to the diauxie phenomenon causing a significant decrease in the solvent production rate. Acid hydrolysis of sorghum molasses minimizes the occurrence of the phenomenon, thereby remarkably increasing the solvent yield. The final solvent concentrations in the inverted molasses medium were butanol, 1.0% (w/v); acetone, 0.37% (w/v); ethanol, 0.18% (w/v); and total solvent, 1.55% (w/v). The total solvent yield in the inverted sorghum molasses medium was 30.3% based on the weight of sugar consumed. Effects of the temperature, agitation and heat-shocking were also investigated.

Research Organization:
Kansas State Univ., Manhattan (USA). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
DOE Contract Number:
FG07-81ID12331
OSTI ID:
6398375
Report Number(s):
DOE/ID/12331-T1; ON: DE83008248
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English