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The process may be likened to how yeast ferments sugars to produce ethanol for wine, beer, or fuel, but the organisms that carry out the ABE fermentation are strictly anaerobic (obligate anaerobes). The ABE fermentation produces solvents in a ratio of 3 parts acetone, 6 parts butanol to 1 part ethanol.
Acetone, butanol, and ethanol are the most common products of solventogenesis. Some species such as Clostridium beijerinckii, Clostridium puniceum and Clostridium roseum are able to further reduce acetone to isopropanol. Several species are able to produce additional solvents under various culture conditions.
The method has been described since as the ABE process, (Acetone Butanol Ethanol fermentation process), yielding 3 parts of acetone, 6 of n-butanol, and 1 of ethanol. Acetone was used in the important wartime task of casting cordite. The alcohols were used to produce vehicle fuels and synthetic rubber.
[1] Fermentation is a type of redox metabolism carried out in the absence of oxygen. [1] [2] During fermentation, organic molecules (e.g., glucose) are catabolized and donate electrons to other organic molecules. In the process, ATP and organic end products (e.g., lactate) are formed. Because oxygen is not required, it is an alternative to ...
This fermentation process is able to produce acetone, butanol, and ethanol and is one of the first commercial fermentation processes used for bulk chemical production. This species has also been used in therapy, research, and even cosmetics (such as perfumes).
The more popular methods for production of ethanol and cellulosic ethanol use enzymes that must be isolated first to be added to the biomass and thus convert the starch or cellulose into simple sugars, followed then by yeast fermentation into ethanol. This process does not need the addition of such enzymes as these microorganisms make their own ...
Catalysts such as Raney Nickel are required to facilitate the hydrogen transfer steps. [1] While the Guerbet reaction is traditionally (and commercially) focused on fatty alcohols, it has been investigated for the dimerization of ethanol to butanol. [3] Organometallic catalysts have been investigated. [4]
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone) is an organic compound with the formula (CH 3) 2 CO. [22] It is the simplest and smallest ketone (>C=O).It is a colorless, highly volatile, and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour, very reminiscent of the smell of pear drops.