Microbial production of terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsMichael G. Bramucci, Carol M. McCutchen, Vasantha Nagarajan, Stuart M. Thomas
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Abstract
This invention relates to a biocatalytic process to produce terephthalic acid and isophthalic acid from p-xylene and m-xylene, respectively. Terephthalic acid has been prepared by oxidizing p-xylene with bacteria belonging to the genus Burkholderia. Conversion of p-xylene into terephthalic acid is accomplished by a single bacterial strain that produces all of the requisite enzymes. In addition, this invention relates to the preparation of isophthalic acid from a mixture of m- and p-xylene.
Claims5
A process for the production of terephthalic acid comprising:
- (i) contacting an isolated TPA producing Proteobacteria with an aromatic organic substrate selected from the group consisting of p-xylene, 4-methylbenzyl alcohol, and p-tolualdehyde, whereby terephthalic acid is produced;
- and
- (ii) recovering the terephthalic acid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.