Summary
The fermentation of glucose byClostridium thermosaccharolyticum strains IMG 2811T, 6544 and 6564 was studied in batch culture in a complex medium at different temperatures in defined and free-floating pH conditions. All the strains ferment 5 g glucose.l−1 completely. The yield of the fermentation products turned out to be independent of the incubation temperature for strain IMG 2811T. Strain IMG 6544 produced at 60°C significantly more ethanol and less acetic acid, butyric acid, hydrogen gas and biomass than at lower temperatures. With strain IMG 6564, the opposite effect occurred: ethanol appeared to be the main fermentation product at 45°C; at 60°C less ethanol and more acetic acid, butyric acid and hydrogen gas was formed.
Experiments, carried out with strain IMG 6564, at defined pH conditions (between 5.5 and 7) and different temperatures (45, 55 and 60°C) revealed no effect of the incubation temperature, but an important effect of the pH on the product formation. At pH 7, ethanol was the main fermentation product while minor amounts of hydrogen gas, acetic and butyric acid were produced. Lowering the pH gradually to 5.5 resulted in a decrease of ethanol and an increase of biomass, hydrogen gas, acetic, butyric and lactic acids. At pH higher than 7 no growth occurred. Similar conclusions could be drawn for strains IMG 2811T and 6544.
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Vancanneyt, M., De Vos, P. & De Ley, J. Ethanol production from glucose byClostridium thermosaccharolyticum strains: Effect of pH and temperature. Biotechnol Lett 9, 567–572 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01026662
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01026662