Effect of pH and butyrate concentration on the production of acetone and butanol by Clostridium acetobutylicum grown in continuous culture

Abstract

When Clostridium acetobutylicum was grown in continuous culture under glucose limitation at neutral pH and varying dilution rates the only fermentation products formed were acetate, butyrate, carbon dioxide and molecular hydrogen. The Y glucose max and (Y ATP max ) gluc exp values were 48.3 and 23.8 dry weight/mol, respectively. Acetone and butanol were produced when the pH was decreased below 5.0 (optimum at pH 4.3). The addition of butyric acid (20 to 80 mM) to the medium with a pH of 4.3 resulted in a shift of the fermentation from acid, to solvent formation.