Microbiological production of ketones from C.sub.3 -C.sub.6 alkanes

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The term "microorganism" is used herein in its broadest sense to include not only bacteria, but also yeasts, filamentous fungi, actinomycetes and protozoa.
Preferably, the microorganisms will include bacteria, and more preferably the bacteria capable of oxidizing methane and methyl-radical donating carbon-containing compounds.
The term "enzyme preparation" is used to refer to any composition of matter that exhibits the desired oxygenase or dehydrogenase enzymatic activity.
The term is used to refer, for example, to live whole cells, dried cells, cell extracts and refined and concentrated preparations derived from the cells, especially purified secondary alcohol dehydrogenase and its NAD.
sup.
+ cofactor and metal requirement.
Enzyme preparations may be either in dry or liquid form.
The term also includes the immobilized form of the enzyme, e.
g.
, the whole cells of the methane or methyl-radical-grown microorganisms or enzyme extracts immobilized or bound to an insoluble matrix by covalent chemical linkages, absorption and entrapment of the enzyme within a gel lattice having pores large enough to allow the molecules of the substrate and of the product to pass freely, but small enough to retain the enzyme.
The term "enzyme preparation" also includes enzymes retained within hollow fiber membranes, e.
g.
, as disclosed by Rony, Biotechnology and Bioengineering (1971).
The term "particulate fraction" refers to the enzyme activity in the precipitated or sedimented material when the supernatant after centrifuging broken cells at 10,000.
times.
g.
for 30 minutes is centrifuged for 1 hour at 10,000.
times.
g.
or greater.
The classification system of methane-oxidizing bacteria proposed by R.
Whittenbury, K.
C.
Phillips and J.
F.
Wilkinson [J.
Gen.
Microbiology, 61, 205-218 (1970) (hereinafter Whittenbury et al.
)] is the most widely recognized system used today.
In this system of classification, based on morphological characteristics methane-utilizing bacteria are divided into five groups