Butanediol fermentation

There are many important industrial applications that butanediol can be used for, including antifreeze, food additives, antiseptic, and pharmaceuticals.

The levo isomer of butanediol has a low freezing point of -60 °C, which allows it to work as an antifreeze agent.

[3] Using mesophilic bacteria requires the fermentation process to occur below 40 °C, which can cause bacterial contamination due to the low temperature.

This higher temperature will avoid the risk of contamination because microorganisms that live in normal environments cannot reproduce above 45 °C.

Sterilization would not be necessary using this alternative strain making the manufacturing process more efficient and cost-effective.

Figure 1: Chemical Structure of 2,3-Butanediol Fermentation
Figure 2: The fermentation process to produce butanediol