L'air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour L'etude Et L'exploitation Des

L'air Liquide

Eurozyme S.a.

Jean Amen

Philippe Girardon

Jean-Luc Mizandjian

Michel Cabau

Jean-Louis Pean

Jean-Marc Meyer

Jean-Marie Navarro

Charles Ghommidh

Process and apparatus for making an inert atmosphere in airtight packages

This invention relates to the production of the microorganisms. The operation is conducted in two stages. The first stage is conducted in the absence of ultrafiltration while the pH of the growth medium is maintained within the range of 6-7 by the addition of a neutralizing agent. Nutrient substratum and dilution water are added during the first stage to maintain the growth rate at a constant level, and the volume of growth medium is permitted to increase. When the amount of growth inhibiting agent produced in the fermentation reaches a predetermined maximum level, the second stage is initiated and the growth rate is maintained in a range of 0.10 to 0.50/hr, which is less than the growth rate in the first stage. By increasing the amount of dilution water the concentration of the growth inhibiting agent is maintained so as to achieve the desired moderate growth rate. The growth inhibiting agent is also continuously removed from the growth medium during the second stage and the volume of the growth medium is maintained substantially constant. The invention may be applied to the production of lactic bacteria, in particular for example in the cheese and wine making industries.

Production of microorganisms

The process for preparing concentrated amounts of lyophilized micro-organisms employs an ultrafiltration with a supply of nutritive substrates and the supply of a neutralizing agent in the fermenter, and further comprises the following steps:

Process for preparing concentrated amounts of lyophilized microorganisms

A process for deoxygenating or carbonating a food or biological liquid product having an initial dissolved oxygen concentration between 9 mg/l and 12 mg/l, comprising injecting at least one gas selected from the group consisting of nitrogen and carbon dioxide into a current of the food or biological liquid product thereby to form a gas/liquid emulsion. The emulsion is introduced into a storage vessel. The gas is at a pressure of about 3 bars. The gas and liquid are injected into a confined mixing chamber at a volume rate of gas to liquid between 3 and 5, and expelled the chamber at a velocity of 15 to 30 meters per second into the vessel above the bottom of the vessel a distance which is a minor proportion of the height of the vessel, until the residual dissolved oxygen content is less than 0.25 mg/l.

Process for treating a food liquid with a gas

Process for continuous production of vinegar by microbiological conversion with oxygen enrichment of ethanol into acetic acid. In a first phase, the micro-biological conversion of ethanol into acetic acid is performed in the presence of air. After consumption of the oxygen in the air, in a second phase, the addition of oxygen, controlled by the demand of the system, is provided by injection of pure oxygen, the aeration gas being recycled, and the gas mixture expelled as soon as the carbon dioxide content reaches the threshold of 7%. After closing of the recycling circuit, the superoxygenated atmosphere is reconstituted with pure oxygen.

Continuous microbiological production of acetic acid and vinegar

A bacterial vaccine against Salmonella fevers, typhoid and paratyphoid fevers is obtained by fermentation, extraction and purification, vaccinating membrane antigens being extracted by putting the bacterial residue, obtained by centrifuging, in contact with a solvent of the tris (hydroxyalkyl) aminoalkane class, with stirring, at lowered temperature, pH adjusted between 8.4 and 8.6 for a period of at least some 60 hours, then, separated by decanting, followed by purifying the antigens and fractionating by ultrafiltration, and then freeze-drying the vaccinating antigen fraction. Such vaccinating antigen fraction has a molecular weight greater than 50,000, preferably 300,000, and is used to vaccinate humans and animals.

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Versailles, France

Jean Amen