Biodegradation Process and Composition

Abstract

Disclosed are novel microbial compositions and biodegradation processes to treat marine animal or marine animal by-products to produce solid, liquid and lipid fractions that contain useful compounds.

1 . A microbial composition comprising ATCC Patent Deposit Designation PTA-10861 
     
     
         2 . A microbial composition comprising (a) one or more lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and (b) one or more microorganisms selected from the group of genera consisting of  Bacillus, Azotobacter, Trichoderma, Rhizobium, Clostridium, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces., Micrococcus, Nitrobacter  and  Proteus.    
     
     
         3 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein said LAB is selected from the genera consisting of  Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Lactococcus , and  Streptococcus.    
     
     
         4 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein said LAB is selected from the group consisting of  Lactobacillus acidophilus  and  Lactobacillus casei.    
     
     
         5 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein said LAB is selected from the group consisting of  Lactobacillus acidophilus  ( Bioderpac,  2008) and  Lactobacillus casei  ( Bioderpac,  2008). 
     
     
         6 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein said  Bacillus  is selected from the group consisting of  Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megateriu, Bacillus licheniformis  and  Bacillus thuringiensis , said  Azotobacter  is  Azotobacter vinelandii , said  Trichoderma  is  Trichoderma harzianum , said  Rhizobium  is  Rhizobium japonicum , said  Clostridium  is  Clostridium pasteurianu  and said  Pseudomonas  is  Pseudomonas fluorescens.    
     
     
         7 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein said  Bacillus  is selected from the group consisting of  Bacillus subtilis  (SILoSil® BS),  Bacillus cereus  ( Bioderpac,  2008),  Bacillus megaterium  ( Bioderpac,  2008),  Bacillus licheniformis  ( Bioderpac,  2008) and  Bacillus thuringiensis  (strains HD-1 and HD-73 (SILoSil° BT)), said  Azotobacter  is  Azotobacter vinelandii  ( Bioderpac,  2008), said  Trichoderma  is  Trichoderma harzianum  (TRICHOSIL), said  Rhizobium  is  Rhizobium japonicum  ( Bioderpac,  2008), said  Clostridium  is  Clostridium pasteurianu  ( Bioderpac,  2008) and said  Pseudomonas  is  Pseudomonas fluorescens  ( Bioderpac,  2008). 
     
     
         8 . The microbial composition of  claim 2  wherein at least one of said  Bacillus, Azotobacter, Trichoderma, Rhizobium, Clostridium, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces., Micrococcus, Nitrobacter  and  Proteus  is a chitinolytic strain. 
     
     
         9 . A biodegradation process comprising:
 mixing a marine animal or marine animal by-product with the microbial composition of any of  claims 1  through  11  to form a mixture;   fermenting said mixture; and   separating said mixture into solid, aqueous and lipid fractions.   
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said marine animal is a marine arthropod. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10  wherein said marine arthropod is selected from the group consisting of shrimp, crab and krill. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said marine animal is fish. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said microbial composition comprises ATCC Patent Deposit Designation PTA-10861. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said fermenting is by facultative aerobic fermentation. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said separating is by centrifugation. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 9  wherein said fermenting is at a temperature of about 30° C. to 40° C. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 16  wherein said fermenting is carried out at a pH between about 4.3 and 5.0 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 16  wherein said fermentation is carried out for about 24-96 hours. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 14  wherein said aqueous fraction comprises amino acids, chitosan and glucosamine 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 19  wherein said aqueous fraction further comprises trace elements. 
     
     
         21 . The aqueous fraction made according to  claim 19  or  20 . 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 12  wherein said solid fraction comprises chitin. 
     
     
         23 . The solid fraction made according to  claim 22 . 
     
     
         24 . A composition comprising HYTb. 
     
     
         25 . A composition comprising HYTc.