Microbial fuels butanol

Whey permeate may also be fermented anaerobically to fuel gas. Studies have also been reported on the production of ammonium lactate by continuous fermentation of deproteinized whey to lactic acid followed by neutralization with ammonia. Conversion of whey and whey permeate to oil and single-cell protein with strains of Candida curvata and Trichosporon cutaneum have been examined. Production of the solvents n-butanol and acetone by Clostridium acetobutylicum or C. butyricum is under investigation in New Zealand. Whey permeate also has potential for citric acid and acrylic acid manufacture. Extracellular microbial polysaccharide production from whey permeate has... 

Some yeasts and bacteria are able to produce different alcohols like ethanol and butanol as well as polyols like glycerin and 2,3-butandiol. These compounds- are used in drinks such as beer and wines, and also may be used in or as solvents, drugs, chemicals, oils, waxes, lacquers, antifreezing and antifoaming agents, precipitants, dyestuff, pomades, raw materials for chemical syntheses, motor fuels, and carbon sources for SCP production. These products are mainly synthesized from petroleum — derived materials like ethylene and acetaldehyde. However, because of the insufficient availability and high prices of the raw materials, the microbial production of alcohols has become an interesting area for many researchers. 

There are already several examples of chemicals being produced by microbial fermentation of engineered cell factories, whose production through metabolic engineering has been boosted by the use of genomics tools, e.g., 1,3-propanediol used for polymer production, riboflavin used as a vitamin, and 7-aminodeacetoxy-cephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) used as a precursor for antibiotics production. Furthermore, in the quest to develop a more sustainable society, the chemical industry is currently developing novel processes for many other fuels and chemicals, e.g., butanol, to be used for fuels, organic acids to be used for polymer production, and amino acids to be used as feed. 

Other Applications. Fermentation-based processes have also been developed for the mass production of certain materials. Most notably, these processes have focused on the bulk production of alternative fuels, particularly ethanol and other solvents, and biogas, which is primarily methane. Processes employing Clostridia bacteria, for example, are useful in the production of acetone and 1-butanol, two extremely important organic solvents. In addition, as the applied science and technology behind fermentation becomes more developed, other areas of science will use the ability to tailor microbial processes for the purposes of analytical and test procedures and production methods. 

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