Process for the production of 1,4-butanediol
Process for the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol comprising fermentation of a culture medium by a microorganism provided with at least one metabolic pathway for the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol and able to use saccharose, in which said culture medium comprises a glucose and saccharose mixture comprising, based on the combined weight of glucose and saccharose, 10-90% by weight of saccharose and 10-90% by weight of glucose.
1. A process for the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol comprising fermentation of a culture medium by a microorganism belonging to the species Escherichia coli , provided with at least one metabolic pathway for the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol and able to use saccharose by means of at least one operon for the assimilation of saccharose, in which said culture medium comprises a glucose and saccharose mixture comprising, based on the combined weight of glucose and saccharose, 10-90% by weight of saccharose and 10-90% by weight of glucose, said operon being selected from the scr regulon from the Escherichia coli strain H155 or the regulon csc of the Escherichia coli strain W or both.
2. The process according to claim 1 , further comprising:
i. production of 1,4-butanediol; and
ii. purification of the 1,4-butanediol obtained in step i.
3. The process according to claim 2 , in which the concentration of said glucose and saccharose mixture in the culture medium is from 10 to 100 g/L.
4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the culture medium comprises sugars different from saccharose and glucose amount up to 20 wt % with respect to the total amount of sugars in the culture medium.
5. The process according to claim 1 , in which during fermentation, the operating conditions are as follows: agitation rate=800−900 rpm, air flow 0.4−1 Pa*m 3 /s, pH 6-7, temperature 30-37° C.
6. The process according to claim 1 , in which said microorganism the metabolic pathway of synthesis of 1,4-butanediol has been created artificially.
7. The process according to claim 2 , in which said step ii comprises the following steps:
(ii-a) separation of a liquid phase containing 1,4-butanediol from one or more solid phases;
(ii-b) purification of the liquid phase containing 1,4-butanediol.
8. The process according to claim 7 , in which said step (ii-a) one or more treatments are carried out chosen from settling, centrifugation, filtration, microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and osmosis.
9. The process according to claim 7 , in which in said step (ii-b) one or more treatments are carried out chosen from among evaporation, distillation, and crystallization.
10. Process according to claim 7 , in which said step (ii-b) comprises the steps of:
(ii-b-1) separate, by means of heating, at least one vapour phase and at least one condensate;
(ii-b-2) condense at least one part of said at least one vapour phase, obtaining a final composition essentially comprising 1,4-butanediol.
11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the glucose and saccharose mixture comprises, based on the combined weight of glucose and saccharose, 20-80% by weight of saccharose and 20-80% by weight of glucose.
12. The process according to 2, wherein the culture medium comprises sugars different from saccharose and glucose amount up to 20 wt % with respect to the total amount of sugars in the culture medium.
13. The process according to claim 3 , wherein the culture medium comprises sugars different from saccharose and glucose amount up to 20 wt % with respect to the total amount of sugars in the culture medium.
14. The process according to claim 2 , in which during fermentation, the operating conditions are as follows: agitation rate=800-900 rpm, air flow 0.4-1 Pa*m 3 /s, pH 6-7, temperature 30-37° C.
15. The process according to claim 3 , in which during fermentation, the operating conditions are as follows: agitation rate=800-900 rpm, air flow 0.4-1 Pa*m 3 /s, pH 6-7, temperature 30-37° C.
16. The process according to claim 4 , in which during fermentation, the operating conditions are as follows: agitation rate=800-900 rpm, air flow 0.4-1 Pa*m 3 /s, pH 6-7, temperature 30-37° C.
17. The process according to claim 2 , in which said microorganism the metabolic pathway of synthesis of 1,4-butanediol has been created artificially.
18. The process according to claim 3 , in which said microorganism the metabolic pathway of synthesis of 1,4-butanediol has been created artificially.
19. The process according to claim 4 , in which said microorganism the metabolic pathway of synthesis of 1,4-butanediol has been created artificially.
20. The process according to claim 5 , in which said microorganism the metabolic pathway of synthesis of 1,4-butanediol has been created artificially.