Immobilized cells: behaviour of carrageenan entrapped yeast during continuous ethanol fermentation

Summary Data of cell concentration, viability and microscopic observation of cell distribution inside carrageenan immobilized yeast beads are reported. Results were obtained from a continuous packed-bed reactor performing alcoholic fermentation and the main observations made on cell activity are in agreement with the fermentation profiles inside the fermenter.     

Contribution of leaves of different ages to plant carbon balance as affected by potassium supply and water stress

The carbon balances of whole, 21-d old French bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown in standard nutrient solution (1K) and its modifications without (OK) or surplus (2K) potassium were calculated from the daily photosynthetic carbon inputs of individual leaves, and the daily respiratory carbon losses by individual leaves, stalks and petioles, and roots. Under the three K concentrations, maximum net photosynthetic rates (P_n) were found in the 2nd or in the 3rd trifoliate leaves, maximum respiratory rates (R_d) in the youngest, 4th trifoliate leaves; the P_n/R_d ratio decreased with leaf age. In all leaves of 2K plants, leaf dry masses and thicknesses, P_n, P_n/P_d ratios, and stomatal and intracellular conductances were lower than in OK and IK plants. Daily whole-plant net carbon gain was highest in IK plants, whereas in OK and 2K plants it was 98.0 and 81.3 % of IK, respectively. Similar values were found in the parameters of growth analysis, namely in net assimilation rates and relative growth rates. No differences were found in water potential (Ψ _w ) or water saturation deficit (W_sat) in the OK, 1K and 2K plants sufficiently supplied with water or during wilting and resaturation. The decrease in Ψ_w to −0.97 MPa was associated with a 19.9 %, 31.4 % and 23.4 % decrease in P_n of OK, 1K and 2K plants, respectively, but no effect on R_d was found. In the three variants, the short-time effect of mild water stress was fully reversible.     

Application of extended Kalman filter to identification of enzymatic deactivation

A recursive estimation scheme, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) technique, was applied to study enzymatic deactivation in the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated cellulose using a model previously developed by the authors. When no deactivation model was assumed, the results showed no variation with time for all the model parameters except for the maximum rate of cellobiose-to-glucose conversion (r'(m)).The r'(m) variation occurred in two zones with a grace period. A new model of enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated cellulose deactivation was proposed and validated showing better behavior than the old deactivation model. This approach allows one to study enzyme deactivation without additional experiments and within operational conditions.     

Mathematical modelization of a packed-bed reactor performance with immobilized yeast for ethanol fermentation

The performance of a continuous vertical packed-bed reactor with yeast immobilized in carrageenan gel beads is reported. The study focuses on the mathematical modelling of the steady-state fermentor behavior by means of a tanks-in-series model which includes the intrinsic kinetic model and the external mass transfer and internal diffusion-reaction conditions in the beads.     

Evaluation of Slit Sampler in Quantitative Studies of Bacterial Aerosols

Quantitative studies were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of the slit sampler in collecting airborne Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis var. niger, and to compare it with the collecting efficiency of the all-glass impinger AGI-30. The slit sampler was approximately 50% less efficient than the AGI-30. This ratio remained the same whether liquid or dry cultures were disseminated when the sample was taken at 2 min of aerosol cloud life. At 30 min of aerosol cloud life, this ratio was approximately 30% for B. subtilis var. niger. S. marcescens recoveries by the slit sampler were, however, only 17% lower than the AGI-30 at 30 min of cloud age, indicating a possible interaction involving the more labile vegetative cells, aerosol age, and method of collection.