Patent ID: 8728762

Claim:
A process for the fermentative production of at least one organic compound having at least 3 C atoms or having at least 2 C atoms and at least 1 N atom, comprising the following steps: i) milling a starch feedstock, thus obtaining a millbase which comprises at least 10% by weight of the nonstarchy solid constituents of the starch feedstock based on the starchy constituents of the millbase; ii) suspending the millbase in an aqueous liquid in such an amount that a dry-matter content in the suspension of at least 45% by weight results, iii) hydrolyzing the starchy constituent in the millbase by liquefaction and, if appropriate, subsequent saccharification, whereby an aqueous medium M is obtained with a sugar concentration of at least 35% by weight which comprises the hydrolyzed starchy constituents of the starch feedstock and at least 10% by weight of the nonstarchy solid constituents of the starch feedstock based on the amount of metabolizable sugar in the aqueous medium M; and iv) using the aqueous medium M obtained in step iii) in a fermentation for culturing a microorganism which is capable of overproducing the organic compound; where, in step iii), the suspension obtained in step ii) is heated at temperatures above the gelatinization temperature of the starch present in the millbase by introducing steam into the suspension, wherein the organic compound is selected among the group consisting of mono-, di- and tricarboxylic acids, which optionally have hydroxyl groups attached to them and which have 3 to 10 carbon atoms; proteinogenic and nonproteinogenic amino acids; purine bases; pyrimidine bases; nucleosides; nucleotides; lipids; saturated and unsaturated fatty acids; diols having 4 to 10 carbon atoms; polyhydric alcohols having 3 or more hydroxyl groups; long-chain alcohols having at least 4 carbon atoms; carbohydrates; aromatic compounds; vitamins; provitamins; cofactors; nutraceuticals; proteins; carotenoids; ketones having 3 to 10 carbon atoms; lactones; biopolymers; and cyclodextrins; and wherein at least one starch-liquefying enzyme is added to the suspension before heating; wherein cereal kernels are used as the starch feedstock.