Patent ID: 7390644

Claim:
A fermentation broth comprising slime-forming Sphingomonas bacterial cells selected from the group consisting of ATCC PTA-3487, ATCC PTA-3486, ATCC PTA-3485, ATCC PTA-3488, and mixtures thereof and an exopolysaccharide in slime form that is obtained by a process comprising: culturing a Sphingomonas bacteria selected from the group consisting of ATCC PTA-3487, ATCC PTA-3486, ATCC PTA-3485, ATCC PTA-3488, and mixtures thereof for a time and temperature effective for providing a broth from which a sphingan exopolysaccharide can be recovered with an alcohol precipitation method at a temperature of about 25° C. to about 50° C. wherein the method yields at least about 10 grams of sphingan exopolysaccharide per liter of broth.