Fermentative Production of Acetone and Butanol From Sugar Cane Molasses

Abstract

Acetone-butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum has been studied intensively since early in this century because of the economic importance of the fermentation end products. Because of the rising costs associated with chemical synthesis of solvents, fermentation processes based on renewable biomass resources are . becoming more and more attractive. The plan of the present investigation is to isolate strains of high acetone-butanol yielding capacity. The most active strain Clostridium acetobutylicum was subjected to systematic studies aiming to the determination of the optimum physiological and biochemical conditions leading to the achievement of the best solvent yield. The roles of carbon and nitrogen sources of the fermentation medium were investigated. Also, the response of the isolated organism to various additives was studied.