Extraction of poly( beta -hydroxybutyric acid)

摘要

beta -Hydroxybutyric acid polymers are extracted from micro-organism cells by contact with a solvent, such as 1,2-dichloroethane which is a poor solvent for the polymer once it has been precipitated. The solution obtained by extraction is caused to gel and then solvent is expelled by subjecting the gel to a deformation process. Expelled solvent is recovered for extraction of polymer from a further quantity of cells.