Production of 1,3-Propanediol from Glycerol by Clostridium acetobutylicum and Other Clostridium Species.

Glycerol was fermented with the production of 1,3-propanediol as the major fermentation product by four strains of Clostridium acetobutylicum, six of C. butylicum, two of C. beijerinckii, one of C. kainantoi, and three of C. butyricum. 1,3-Propanediol was identified by its retention times in gas chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography and by its mass spectrum. During growth of C. butylicum B593 in a chemostat culture at pH 6.5, 61% of the glycerol fermented was converted to 1,3-propanediol. When the pH was decreased to 4.9, growth and 1,3-propanediol production were substantially reduced.