A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SIX DIFFERENT STRAINS OF THE ORGANISM COMMONLY CONCERNED IN LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION OF BUTYL ALCOHOL AND ACETONE BY THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESS

Abstract

A survey of the literature reveals the fact that as far back as 1876 butyl alcohol was recognized as a metabolism product of certain types of bacteria and moulds. Since the pioneer work of Fitz and Pasteur, some twenty-five writers have described organ-isms which produce butyl alcohol from carbohydrate material. The biological production of acetone was not noted until later (1904), but it is highly probable that all the forms which produce butyl alcohol likewise form acetone, and that the majority of those described in the literature belong to a single species. The types which have been studied more recently have been shown to be capable of considerable variation, depending upon the nutrient medium employed, age of culture, and respiratory environment. The particular organism which is being used on a commercial scale has been given a variety of names which cause confusion regarding the identity of the species. We would urge the general acceptance of the name Clostridium acetobutyli-cum, Weizmann, as being descriptive and in compliance with the rules and nomenclature of the Society of American Bacteriolo-gists. In the present experimental work it has been our aim to make a comparative study of various strains of butyl alcohol and ace-tone producing organisms, both newly isolated and old known stock strains. The investigation was stimulated in part by the fact that this laboratory was made a temporary repository