Inventors:
Ramesh N. Patel - Edison NJ
Allen I. Laskin - New York NY
Assignee:
Exxon Research and Engineering Co. - Florham Park NJ
International Classification:
C12N 902
Abstract:
Disclosed are newly discovered and isolated methylotrophic microorganism strains and their natural and/or artificial mutants which grow well under aerobic conditions in a culture medium in the presence of methane as the major carbon and energy source. The methane-grown microbial cells possess a high content of protein and can be utilized as such as feedstuffs. The methane-grown microbial cells or enzyme preparations thereof are also useful in converting C. sub. 1 -C. sub. 6 alkanes to alcohols, particularly methane to methanol, C. sub. 3 -C. sub. 6 alkanes to the corresponding C. sub. 3 -C. sub. 6 sec. alcohols and methyl ketones, C. sub. 3 -C. sub. 6 sec. alcohols to the corresponding methyl ketones, cyclic hydrocarbons to cyclic hydrocarbyl alcohols (e. g. , cyclohexane to cyclohexanol) C. sub. 2 -C. sub. 4 alkenes selected from the group consisting of ethylene, propylene, butene-1 and butadiene to 1,2-epoxides, styrene to styrene oxide, and converting other oxidizable substrates to oxidized products.