Appeal No. 1996-2215
Application No. 08/101,093
a) providing a culture medium having definite components
for culturing the microorganism of the genus Gluconobacter
which includes at least one amino acid selected from the group
consisting of glutamic acid, glutamine, alanine, serine,
threonine, asparagine and aspartic acid;
b) adding D-sorbitol to the culture medium in an amount
such that the concentration of D-sorbitol is maintained at or
under 5% by weight of the culture medium during and after the
growth phase of the microorganism;
c) pumping oxygen gas into the culture medium and
monitoring the amount of dissolved oxygen in the culture
medium such that the concentration of the dissolved oxygen in
the culture medium is maintained in a prescribed range, the
culture medium releasing an exhaust gas comprising oxygen and
carbon dioxide;
d) nonadsorbently controlling the partial pressure of
carbon dioxide in the culture tank by venting via a valve a
portion of the exhaust gas from the culture tank, the partial
pressure of carbon dioxide in the culture tank being
maintained in the range from 5 to 10% by such venting; and
e) releasing to the atmosphere some of the exhaust gas
which has been vented from the culture tank and recirculating
the remaining exhaust gas which has been vented but not
released back to the culture medium by mixing such exhaust
gas, which includes carbon dioxide produced by the culture
medium, with the oxygen gas prior to the oxygen gas being
pumped into the culture medium, whereby L-sorbose is
efficiently produced by the microbial oxidation of D-sorbitol.
34. A method for recycling exhaust gas produced by a
microbiological industrial process in a culture tank,
comprising:
a) carrying out the microbiological process in a culture
medium in the culture tank, the exhaust gas produced by the
microbiological process comprising carbon dioxide; then
2
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