Abstract: A bidirectional check valve controls movement of fluid. A valve body has an opening, a further opening and a passage connecting the opening and the further opening. A poppet is disposed within the passage of the valve body, and a spring is coupled to the poppet. A further poppet is disposed within the passage formed in the first mentioned poppet, and a further spring is coupled to the poppet and to the further poppet. When fluid passing through the opening in the valve body exerts a force on the poppet that is greater than the spring force, the further portion of the outer surface of the poppet is directed away from the further portion of the wall of the passage and permits the fluid to flow from the opening in the valve body through a channel and to the further opening in the valve body.

Abstract: A method is described for the enzymatic saccharification of a cellulosic substrate to glucose which utilizes fermentation of the substrate with the cellulase enzyme complex-producing, thermophilic microorganism Microbispora bispora Rutgers P&W and its mutants. The resistance of M. bispora Rutgers P&W cellulase to end-product inhibition enables conversion efficiency superior to that of known cellulase producing microorganisms. Continued enzyme activity at elevated temperatures allows broader applicability of enzyme-catalyzed saccharification than heretofore attained. The microorganism in its purified form incubated on cellulase, and its cellulolytic mutants, are also disclosed.