Improved performance with multiple fermentors for repeated batch cultivation for non-growth-associated products

Based on batch cultivation data for the production of L-glutamic acid from glucose, a comparative evaluation was made for repeated batch cultivations using one and more fermentors. The problem was formulated as maximizing the productivity of metabolic product with the specified conversion with respect to the cell age and the volume fraction used as seed for the subsequent repeated batch cultivation. Simulations were carried out with the assumption of no lag in product formation for the cases where the total operation time was specified as 200 h with reproducible batch cultivation cycles. The product production was assumed to be solely a function of product concentration. The computation results show the advantage of using more than one fermentor from the viewpoints of productivity and conversion, which will apply in general to non-growth-associated product production with delay time. In particular, three fermentors are recommended for the production of L-glutamic acid chosen as an example in this article.