Michigan Biotechnology Institute

Other

Mahendra K Jain

Michael V Guettler

Rathin Datta

Bhupendra K Soni

David A Glassner

Henry Y Wang

Ramani Narayan

Ohantaek Han

Daniel Beacom

Denise Rumler

Murugiah R Natarajan

Wei-Min Wu

Lakshmi Bhatnagar

John R Vick Roy

A fermentation process for making succinic acid in high concentrations employs a bacteria obtained from the rumen contents of cattle. A preferred bacteria is Bacterium 130Z (ATCC No. 55618).

Process for making succinic acid, microorganisms for use in the process

The present invention relates to a biological method for dechlorinating polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by inoculating a polychlorinated biphenyl containing sample with PCB dechlorinating anaerobic methanogenic granules. The granules are made by coculturing particles of a PCP-dechlorinating methanogenic microbial consortia and a PCB-dechlorinating microorganism under anaerobic conditions in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (USAB) reactor.

Method for dechlorinating polychlorinated biphenyls and granules for use

A method for producing succinic acid in high concentration by fermentation employs a variant of strain 130Z which is resistant to concentrations of about 1 g/l to about 8 g/l of sodium monofluoroacetate. The variant produces succinic acid in concentrations of about 80 g/l to about 110 g/l and the fermentation product contains less formic and acetic acids than the product obtained using the parent strain under identical conditions. The novel variants and a method of obtaining such variants also are described.

Method for making succinic acid, bacterial variants for use in the

A method for making succinic acid employs a fluoroacetate resistant variant of Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens. The fluoroacetate variant produces a succinic acid product which contains less acetic acid than the product obtained using the parent strain under identical conditions. A preferred variant FA-10 is obtained from A. succiniciproducens (ATCC No. 29305). A method of obtaining the variant also is described.

Method for making succinic acid, anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens

A method for reducing the size of coal particles includes the steps of inoculating a coal sample with an anaerobic bacteria or decarboxylating enzyme therefrom and incubating the inoculated sample. The microbes and/or decarboxylating enzymes biochemically modify the coal to reduce the size of the coal to ultra-fine particles. The biotreatment modifies the coal so as to improve its dispersibility in coal-water slurries.

Biological method for coal comminution

A biologically pure asporogenic mutant of Clostridium acetobutylicum is produced by growing sporogenic C. acetobutylicum ATCC 4259 and treating the parent strain with ethane methane sulfonate. The mutant which as been designated C. acetobutylicum ATCC 55025 is useful in an improved ABE fermentation process, and produces high concentrations of butanol and total solvents.

Mutant strain of C. acetobutylicum and process for making butanol

A process for economically producing highly purified succinic acid comprises growing a succinate-producing microorganism on a low cost carbohydrate substrate; simultaneously neutralizing the fermentation broth and precipitating the succinate as calcium succinate by adding a calcium ion source to form calcium succinate; isolating the calcium succinate; slurrying the calcium succinate in water and treating it with sulfuric acid to form calcium sulfate and succinic acid; and then treating the succinic acid with first a strongly acidic ion exchanger and then a weakly basic ion exchanger to remove impurities and obtain a highly purified succinic acid product. In a preferred embodiment, the calcium succinate is isolated from the fermentation broth by filtration; the filtrate is heated to precipitate additional calcium succinate; and, the spent filtrate which contains nutrients is recycled to the fermentor.

Fermentation and purification process for succinic acid

A process including multistage continuous fermentation followed by batch fermentation with carefully chosen temperatures for each fermentation step, combined with an asporogenic strain of C. acetobutylicum and a high carbohydrate substrate concentration yields extraordinarily high butanol and total solvents concentrations.

Growing community of inventors

Okemos, MI, United States of America

Mahendra K Jain