ALDEHYDE PRODUCTION BY ALCOHOL OXIDATION WITH GLUCONOBACTER-OXYDANS

The microbial oxidation of various primary alcohols to the correspondi ng aldehydes has been investigated, A focused screening performed amon gst some acetic acid bacteria showed that a newly isolated strain of G luconobacter oxydans oxidizes various short-chain aliphatic alcohols t o the corresponding aldehydes with negligible acid production. 3-Methy l-1-butanol (isoamyl alcohol) proved to be the better substrate with h igh yields (more than 90%) without by-product formation, This biotrans formation also occurs with continuous or semicontinuous addition of su bstrate since the volatile product is removed from the medium under vi gorous aeration conditions. Product recovery is attained either by the use of cold traps or by reversible complex formation.