Inhibition of the Acetone-Butyl Alcohol Fermentation by Acids

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Abstract
A study was made of the inhibition of fermentation of maize mash, under the influence of Clostridium acetobutylicum (Weizmann), as effected by 30 representative inorganic and organic acids. With several acids, complete inhibition was effected in those flasks whose initial reaction fell within a narrow zone, the limits of which varied from exp. to exp., but which extended approximately from pH 3.90 to 3.65. The following acids are included in this group: HC1, HN03, H2SO4, orthophosphoric, succinic, malonic, maleic, levu-linic, crotonic, glycollic, [beta]-hydroxybutyric, formic, acetic, propionic, butyric and isobutyric. The toxic effects of these acids are probably associated with a "critical" CH+ in the cell interior, closely approximating the observed extra-cellular H-ion concentration associated with the inhibitory effect.