Abstract: The invention relates to a process of producing ageing gas for ageing components for the after-treatment of exhaust gas in a burner which comprises a combustion chamber with at least one fuel injection nozzle and with a combustion gas supply system with means for generating swirl, wherein the swirl of the combustion air is set as a function of the selected combustion air ratio ?.

Abstract: A proteolytic enzyme for use in detergent formulations having increased pH and oxidative stability under typical laundering conditions in aqueous solutions is produced by fermenting Bacillus licheniformis host strain transformed by a multicopy plasmid comprised of DNA sequences which code for the desired proteolytic enzyme.

Abstract: In the aerobic culture of microorganisms of the Xanthomonas genus in fermentation media, the use of water-in-oil emulsions in the media minimizes viscosity problems and enhances yields of Xanthomonas biopolymers. Preferably, the emulsion is formed with a surfactant and the microorganism is Xanthomonas campestris.

Abstract: The degradation of steroid-C22-carboxylic acids to the C20-carbonyl steroids is carried out in simplified form and preferably without isolating intermediate reaction products by using 17(20)-steroid-22-carboxylic acids as starting material and directly transforming them into the 20-carbonyl compound through their respective acid halides by the Curtius degradation or by carboxy-inversion degradation. The acetyl substituent thus formed in C17 of the steroid compounds is present in the pharmacologically required configuration.

Abstract: A .DELTA..sup.1,4,17 -BNC compound having the formula: ##STR1## wherein X is a substituent selected from the group consisting of OH and OCH.sub.3 ; as well as its process of production by microbiological side-chain splitting of a 17-C-side-chain steroid with a defect mutant microorganism which gives a steroid with a 17-C-.alpha.-propionic acid substituent in the absence of inhibitors inhibiting either the cleavage of the steroid ring or microorganism growth, where the defect mutant microorganisms are grown under a reduced air supply whereby an enrichment of .DELTA..sup.1,4,17 -BNC occurs.