Microbial co-oxidation of propylene glycol and diethylene glycol

Substrate utilization and product formation were studied in a mixture of two substrates (propylene glycol and diethylene glycol) during growth of the strain B-009. The bacterium isolated from soil accumulated an acidic compound in the culture broth. The microorganism grew on propylene glycol, whereas it did not grow on diethylene glycol. By TLC, IR, NMR, and GC-MS analyses, the accumulated acidic compound was identified to be β-hydroxyethoxy acetic acid. The CH2OH group of one end of diethylene glycol was oxidized to a COOH group. This propylene glycol-diethylene glycol cultivation system showed typical co-oxidation and accumulated β-hydroxyethoxy acetic acid as an end product.