Fermentation Utilization of Cassava. The Butyl-Acetonic Fermentation

The cassava plant belongs to the family Euphorbiaccaee and is botanically known as Manihot utilissima Pohl. It is also called tapioca or manioc although the word tapioca is often used to designate certain forms of cassava products. The cassava is a plant possessing quite unusual characteristics. It has no known pests nor enemies. It grows in most soils, resists extreme droughts, and propagates easily although its growth is restricted to tropical regions. The plant itself is a perennial shrub which attains a height of six to twelve feet at the age of one year. At the base of its stem it produces a cluster of long fleshy roots. The starch content of the fresh cassava root is 25 to 30 per cent; these roots furnish the cheapest source of starch known

Some Factors Affecting the Vitamin B12-binding Properties of Hog Mucosal Extracts

Extracts of hog gastric mucosa (Ventriculin) contain a substance, probably protein in nature, which inhibits the growth promoting activity of vitamin B12 for Lactobacillus leichmannii. Several investigators have claimed that heating destroyed the vitamin B12 binding factor. Ternberg and Eakin (7), Shaw (5), and Burkholder (2) heated extracts of hog gastric mucosa to release vitamin B12 in order to make it available to bacteria. Shaw (5) and Spray (6) reported that not all of the vitamin B12 was released by heating. Gregory, Ford and Kon (3), however, found a vitamin B12-binding substance in sow\u27s milk which could withstand heating at 100° C. for 30 minutes. Several workers (3, 6) reported that the binding factor is destroyed by heating at alkaline pH, but that it is relatively stable at neutral and acid pH values. In this work the effect of heat on the vitamin B12-inhibitory factor and the possible physiological significance of vitamin B12-binding was studied

Relation of the Structure of Sugars to Their Dissimilation in the Butyl-Acetonic Fermentation

The dissimilation of starch in corn mash by Clostridium acetobutylicum produces butanol, acetone and ethanol, commonly called solvents \u27, in the approximate ratio of 60:80:10, respectively. Although corn mash is the usual substrate, fermentations of certain pure carbohydrates by Cl. acetobutylicum have been investigated previously to some extent. The studies of various workers (3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12) have shown that a considerable number of sugars are fermented by the butyl organism in semi-synthetic media. The sugar fermentations are somewhat slower than for corn mash, and the final acidities arc somewhat higher with yields of neutral products correspondingly lower. There is some variation in the proportion of solvents produced from the various carbohydrates. Hence, an attempt was made in this investigation to relate the structure of the sugars and the proportions of the solvents formed, by subjecting to the action of the butyl-acetone organism as many of the sugars and polyhydric alcohols as could be readily obtained or prepared. These included thirteen compounds which had not been previously studied in detail, with dextrose and corn mash used for controls

Saccharification of Starchy Grain Mashes for Ethonal Fermentation Use of Mold-Amylase Preparations

Ethyl alcohol has been listed by scientists as one of the six most useful substances; in fact it has been said that, next to water, ethanol is the most useful chemical compound known to mankind. At the present time approximately 85% of all industrial alcohol is made by fermentation, the balance by synthesis from ethylene derived from the cracking of petroleum. Of the fermentation alcohol about nine-tenths is produced from blackstrap molasses, one-tenth from grains. However, by-product molasses is limited in amount and there is at the present time virtually no surplus. This is shown by the statistics of molasses production (4) and by the fact that the price of molasses has recently risen from 5¢ to 7¢ per gallon. It is likely to rise still higher as alcohol production expands to meet the needs of defense industries. Hence, other raw materials will become increasingly important. Of these, corn is the only one now available in adequate quantities in the United States. The present price of molasses at 7¢ per gallon is equivalent to about 60¢ per bushel for corn as an alcohol source