Preparation of liquid fuel and nutrients from municipal waste water

Claim 1

The process for preparation of useful substances, including liquid fuel stock and nutrient materials from liquidous municipal waste which comprises essentially the steps of: (a) adjustment of the solids content of said liquidous waste; (b) hydrolysis and saccharification of the polysaccharides and other components of said liquidous waste in the presence of an essentially constant concentration of a hydrolytic agent selected from the group consisting of oxygen, ozone, and acidic compounds of sulfur and phosphorus, and carried out to the extent that the organic portion of the liquidous waste is essentially solubilized and sterilized; (c) rendering innocuous the hydrolytic agent of step (b); (d) adjustment of the soluble solids content and the pH of the so-obtained mixture to provide a suitable environment for fermentation of said mixture; (e) innoculation of said sterile mixture with a selected essentially single fermentation species, and, when desired, with enzymatic materials; (f) fermentation of said mixture under conditions suitable for metabolic action by said fermentation species; and (g) isolation of the desired product components from the fermented mixture.