Glycerol production by immobilised cells of Pichia farinosa

Summary Cells ofPichia farinosa were immobilised in calcium alginate and K-Carrageenan and their ability to produce glycerol from glucose under aerobic conditions with acidic as well as alkaline pH was investigated. An average glycerol production rate of 0.07 g/l.h was obtained with immobilised cells (IMC) in shake flasks. Continuous glycerol production in a fluidised bed reactor (FBR) under steady state operation gave a glycerol concentration of 13.5 g/l in the product stream.     

CH4 production from H2 and CO2 byMethanobacterium thermoautotrophicum cells fixed on hollow fibers

Summary Methane was produced from H₂ and CO₂ byMethanobacterium thermoautotrophicum cells fixed on the surface of hollow fibers. The mineral solution permeated through the inside of fibers was consumed by the cells, while the gaseous substrate flowing outside the fibers was directly metabolized to methane. Methane production was proportional to hollow fiber length i.e., contact area between cell layer and gas phase. In repeated batch cultures, the production rates of methane and cell mass were 33.1 L/L reactor/day and 1.75 g cells/L reactor/day, respectively with 90% conversion rate.     

Yeast cells entrapped in low-gelling temperature agarose for the continuous production of ethanol

Summary Continuous ethanol production byS. uvarum immobilized in a low-gelling temperature agarose namely SeaPlaque agarose was studied in a packed bed reactor at 30°C using sugarcane molasses containing 13.5% fermentable sugars as feed. The productivity at 95% conversion was 23 g/l.h (on reactor volume basis). The bioreactor was run continuously at a fixed dilution rate and it retained 60% of its initial activity upto 80 days.     

An improved method for electroporation in plant protoplasts: infection of tobacco protoplasts by tobacco mosaic virus particles

Conditions of electroporation were optimized for introduction of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles into tobacco mesophyll protoplasts (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Petit Havana SR1). Compared with conditions for TMV-RNA uptake, a longer electric pulse was necessary at the same voltage to induce TMV particle entry. Up to 80–90% of the protoplasts were infected with TMV particles after exposure to a 10 msec pulse at 200 V (0.67 KV/cm) in a 0.5 M mannitol solution. Protoplast viability was slightly lower than for controls which did not undergo electroporation. The presence of buffer in the mannitol solution reduced the net voltage in the solution which resulted in a significant decrease of the level of infection. These results suggest that the membrane pores resulting from an electrical pulse were wide enough for TMV particles (300 × 18 nm) to enter protoplasts.     

Continuous ethanol production by immobilized yeast in a fluidized reactor

Summary In order to minimize the adverse effect of CO₂ gas in a packed bed immobilized yeast reactor, a fluidized bed reactor was used for the continuous production of ethanol from glucose. Immobilized yeast was prepared by entrapping whole cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae within a Caalginate matrix. It was found that the efficiency of the ethanol production in a fluidized bed reactor was 100% better than that for a packed bed reactor system. The alcohol productivity obtained was 21 g/l/hr in a fluidized bed reactor at 94% of conversion level.     

Langmuir adsorption isotherm forSulfolobus acidocaldarius on coal particles

Summary Sulfolobus acidocaldarius attachment to coal particles was observed in 20% coal slurry at 72°C and pH 2.0. The rate and extent of attachment were determined and the data fit the Langmuir adsorption model. The results compared qualitatively with selected adsorption data from other investigators forThiobacillus ferrooxidans.     

Production of ethanol by adsorbed yeast cells

Summary Various ion exchange resins were tested for their ability to adsorb cells of Saccharomyces cerivisiae with the ultimate intention of developing a packed bed immobilized cell reactor for the continuous production of ethanol. The resins varied greatly in their ability to adsorb cells - the least effective resins retained less than 1 mg S. cerivisiae cells (dry weight)/g of resin (dry weight), and the most effective, 130–140 mg cells/g of resin. A column reactor packed with adsorbed yeast cells was operated continuously for over 200 hours using a 12% (w/v) glucose medium at dilution rates of 1.1 h^-1 and 1.44 h^-1 (based on void volume). High ethanol productivities of 53.1 and 62.0 g ethanol/l-h were obtained.     

Simulated scale-up of a yeast fermentation using a loop bioreactor

A tubular loop reactor was used to carry out the simulated scale-up of aSaccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation. Performance of the microorganism was assessed in terms of biomass, ethanol concentration respiratory quotient and yield. The behaviour of the culture was shown to be similar in loop reactor (t_c, 10s) and STR.     

Cellulase production byTalaromyces emersonii CBS 814.70 co-immobilized with cellulose in calcium alginate

Summary The thermophilic fungusTalaromyces emersonii CBS 814.70 was co-immobilized with cellulose in calcium alginate beads. Cellulose production by this system was compared with a conventional process. The immobilized system continued to produce enzyme in a batch-fed reactor system while the non-immobilized had ceased production; levels of enzyme produced by the immobilized system were almost twice the maximum produced by the non-immobilized system.     

Bioconversion of hydrogen sulfide by free and immobilized cells ofChlorobium thiosulfatophilum

Summary The transformation of hydrogen sulfide into elementary sulfur and sulfate was investigated in a photo-bioreactor using autotropic bacteriaChlorobium thiosulfatophilum. The accumulations of sulfur and sulfate in the reactor were found to be dependent on the light energy and the feed rate of H₂S. The optimum operation lines were established to limit sulfide or sulfate. Immobilization of the whole cells in strontium-alginate matrix enhanced the conversion more than with the free cells.     

Use ofClostridium acetobutylicum P262 for production of solvents from whey permeate

Summary The production of solvents from whey permeate in batch fermentation usingClostridium acetobutylicum P262 was examined. An overall reactor productivity of 0.24 g/l.h was observed, representing a marked improvement over reports using other strains of clostridia. Using a semi-synthetic medium galactose was shown to be as effective a substrate as glucose. When whey permeate was used in which the lactose was hydrolysed prior to fermentation, preferential uptake of glucose over galactose was observed, and such hydrolysis provided no advantage to the fermentation process.     

The application of cell recycle to continuous fermentative lactic acid production

Summary A continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) with cell recycle was used to produce lactic acid from glucose usingLactobacillus delbreuckii NRRLB445. A volumetric productivity of 76 gm/1-h was obtained with an effluent concentration of 35 gm/1 lactic acid and a residual glucose concentration of less than 0.02 gm/l.     

A new principle for immobilized yeast reactors based on internal gelation of alginate

Summary Internal gelation of alginate byin situ liberation of Ca²⁺ ions permitted production of a one-piece continuous immobilized yeast cell reactor unit having vertical internal flow channels. The reactor showed good characteristics with respect to gel stability, gas-release and fermentation stability over the 3.5 month test period.     

Conversion of sugar-beet particles to ethanol by the bacteriumZymomonas mobilis in solid-state fermentation

Summary The possibility of usingZymomonas mobilis as the microorganism, in solid-state fermentation of sugar-beet particles was investigated. The major factors affecting the process were investigated and related to ethanol yield and productivity. Ethanol yield of 0.48 g/g sugar, volumetric productivity of 12 g/L h, and final ethanol concentration of 130 g/L show the good performance ofZ.mobilis in a solid-state fermentation.     

Adsorption ofCatharanthus roseus cells on various support particles

Summary Adsorption ofC. roseus cells producing indole alkaloids on various support particles were investigated in an attempt to find a suitable support material for surface culture of plant cells. Five different support particles namely gelatin, agar, alginate, polypropylene and glass beads were tested. Gelatin was found to be the most effective adsorbent resulting in nearly 30% adsorption of cells initially present in suspension. Adsorption isotherm of cells on gelatin beads was represented by a three parameter expression due to sigmoidal shape of the isotherm. The constants of the adsorption isotherm were determined using the experimental data.     

Influence of the reciprocating movement on the performance of a membrane aeration system in insect cell cultures

Summary The influence of the reciprocating movement of a silicon membrane tubing aeration system on the metabolic performance of Spodoptera frugiperda cells was investigated in a stirred reactor.     

Stability against stop of flow of an immobilizedZymomonas mobilis bioreactor

Summary Starvation responses of a passively immobilizedZymomonas mobilis system have been studied. The system recovered its total activity after starvation for a two month period at 4°C and no differences were observed when fresh medium was added previously to reactor storage. When the starvation temperature was 25–28°C, complete glucose conversion was achieved even after 11 days without feeding, whereas the longer the starvation time the lower steady state glucose conversion achieved.     

Solid state fermentation of dried citrus peel byAspergillus niger

Summary Solid state fermentation of dried citrus peel was studied in a packed bed reactor withAspergillus niger QH-2. When no nitrogen source was added the growth was limited. When urea and/or ammonium sulphate were added in the proportion of 0.63 g N/100 g solid dry substrate a diauxie was observed and the final content of crude protein was higher than 10%. The results of a factorial design show that ammonium sulphate has a significant effect on the specific growth rate.     

Fructose production from Jerusalem artichoke by inulinase immobilized on chitin

Summary Inulinase fromAspergillus ficuum was immobilized by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde on chitin. Batch and continuous production of fructose from Jerusalem artichoke tuber was studied using this immobililized inulinase. In a batch reactor, the extent of hydrolysis attained 90% (D-fructose/D-glucose :86/14) in 10h and 77.5g/L of D-fructose was produced from the Jerusalem artichoke tuber juice. In a continuous packed bed column reactor, the maximum volumetric productivity of 61 g/L, h was obtained at residence time of 0.9h and conversion yield of 55%. At a fixed residence time of 2.6 h and 40° C, this could be operated for over two weeks with only a slight loss of activity (4.8%).     

Immobilization of the cellulolytic fungus Trichoderma reesei on the polymeric sorbent - Sorfix

Summary The immobilization of T. reesei mycelium on activated polymeric sorbent was investigated with respect to the intended flow-trough cellulase production. The retention of extracellular production of cellulolytic enzymes was monitored in a packed-column recycle reactor. Some factors affecting cellulase elution pattern are described.