Inventors:
Robert C. Nubel - Wantagh NY
Assignee:
Pfizer Inc. - New York NY
International Classification:
C12D 104
Abstract:
Citric acid is produced by aerobically propagating a citric acid-accumulating strain of yeast of the genus Candida in an aqueous nutrient medium containing enough readily assimilable source of carbon to promote growth but insufficient to permit the accumulation of citric acid; introducing slack wax as the principal source of assimilable carbon together with a solubilizing agent into the aqueous nutrient medium after at least 50% of the readily assimilable source of carbon has been utilized, continuing the aerobic propagation until a level of at least about 1 gram of citric acid has been accumulated per liter of aqueous medium and recovering the citric acid, said solubilizing agent being selected from the group consisting of alkanols having 4 to 10 carbon atoms in each alkyl moiety, lower alkyl esters of alkanoic acids having 2 to 6 carbon atoms, alkenes and alkanes having 8 to 19 carbon atoms, turpentine, mineral oil and mixtures thereof.