Anaerobic bioprocessing of organic wastes

Anaerobic digestion of dissolved, suspended and solid organics has rapidly evolved in the last decades but nevertheless still faces several scientific unknowns. In this review, some fundamentals of bacterial conversions and adhesion are addressed initially. It is argued in the light of G-values of reactions, and in view of the minimum energy quantum per mol, that anaerobic syntrophs must have special survival strategies in order to support their existence: redistributing the available energy between the partners, reduced end-product fermentation reactions and special cell-to-cell physiological interactions. In terms of kinetics, it appears that both reaction rates and residual substrate thresholds are strongly related to minimum G-values. These new fundamental insights open perspectives for efficient design and operation of anaerobic bioprocesses. Subsequently, an overview is given of the current anaerobic biotechnology. For treating wastewaters, a novel and high performance new system has been introduced during the last decade; the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket system (UASB). This reactor concept requires anaerobic consortia to grow in a dense and eco-physiologically well-organized way. The microbial principles of such granular sludge growth are presented. Using a thermodynamic approach, the formation of different types of aggregates is explained. The application of this bioprocess in worldwide wastewater treatment is indicated. Due to the long retention times of the active biomass, the UASB is also suitable for the development of bacterial consortia capable of degrading xenobiotics. Operating granular sludge reactors at high upflow velocities (5–6 m/h) in expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) systems enlarges the application field to very low strength wastewaters (chemical oxygen demand < 1 g/l) and psychrophilic temperatures (10°C). For the treatment of organic suspensions, there is currently a tendency to evolve from the conventional mesophilic continuously stirred tank system to the thermophilic configuration, as the latter permits higher conversion rates and easier sanitation. Integration of ultrafiltration in anaerobic slurry digestion facilitates operation at higher volumetric loading rates and at shorter residence times. With respect to organic solids, the recent trend in society towards source separated collection of biowaste has opened a broad range of new application areas for solid state anaerobic fermentation.W. Verstraete and D. de Beer are with the Center for Environmental Sanitation, University of Gent, Coupure L 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; D. de Beer is also with the Max Plank Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie-Microzensor Group, Fahrenstrasse 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany. M. Pena is with the Groupo de Biotechnologia Ambiental, Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica, Universidad de Valladolid, Prado de la Magdalena, 47005 Valladolid, Spain. G. Lettinga is with the Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen Agricultural University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD Wageningen, The Netherlands. P. Lens is with the Environmental Research Unit. Department of Microbiology, University College Galway, Galway, Ireland.     

里氏木霉液体发酵产纤维素酶的研究

在摇瓶试验基础上,采用里氏木霉(Trichoderma reesei)HC-415菌株进行5L自控罐产纤维素酶深层发酵试验。在通气量为 0.2—0.6vvm、搅拌速度为 400r/min、发酵液pH控制在5.8—6.1的条件下,发酵液的羧甲基纤维素(CMC)酶酶活最高为325.0mg糖/ml,滤纸糖酶(FPA)酶活最高达17.9mg糖/ml。发酵周期为108h。所得冻干纤维素酶粉CMC酶活最高3111IU/g,FPA最高135IU/g ,对发酵液得率平均6.7g/L。酶活总收率CMC酶活平均78.2％,FPA酶活平均73.5％。     

硫酸盐还原一甲烷化两相厌氧消化系统运行工艺条件的研究

以合成废水为基质,研究了采用硫酸盐还原-甲烷化两相厌氧新型工艺处理含高浓度硫酸盐有机废水的系统运行工艺条件.结果表明,酸化-硫酸盐还原反应器的适宜pH为6.5-7.0;500mg/l的S~(2-)使SRB的硫酸盐还原活性下降;208mg/l的[H_2S]_L抑制MPB活性的95.4%;推导出估算气提塔出水回流比R的模型;以得到的工艺条件为依据处理了含19200mg/1的SO_4~(2-)和29400mg/l COD的味精废水.     

黄单胞菌R5产黄原胶的工艺条件研究

本文报道了黄单胞菌（Ｘａｎｔｈｏｍｏｎａｓｃａｍｐｅｓｔｒｉｓ）ＸＣ—８２·５的诱导株Ｒ５发酵生产黄原胶的最适工艺条件。探讨了培养基中不同的碳源、发酵溶氧状况、发酵温度、ｐＨ值、菌龄对产胶水平的影响,向时发现：以菜油替代ＰＰＥ作消泡剂有其独特的优越性;Ｈ２Ｏ２水不能改善溶氧水平。     

Development of Media and Automated Liquid Fermentation Methods to Produce Desiccation-Tolerant Propagules ofTrichoderma harzianum

A suitable medium was developed from modified Richard's medium plus V8 juice (RM8) to produce high levels of desiccation-tolerant conidia ofTrichoderma harzianumstrain 1295-22. The addition of 9% (v/v) glycerol to RM8 improved both biomass production and desiccation tolerance of the conidia ofT. harzianum.This medium was then used in a laboratory scale fermenter (1.5 liter) to determine optimal operating conditions. The optimal temperature for conidial production and desiccation tolerance improvement in the fermenter was 32°C when dissolved oxygen was maintained at 50% saturation of air, and the stirring rate was 1000 revolutions per minute. The initial water potential of the medium (with 9% glycerol) was −3.7 MPa, the pH was 6, and neither was controlled during fermentation. Changes in medium pH and dissolved oxygen were associated with the stages of morphological development and conidiation. The pH of the medium decreased concurrently with germ-tube elongation and mycelium development and then increased to 6.0–6.2 at phialide formation. Intensive conidiation occurred at pH 6.3–6.5 and reached its maximal level at 6.9–7.1. Changes in pH values could be used as indicators to monitor the morphological development and conidiation ofT. harzianumduring fermentation. The use of a 48-h-old culture inoculum, rather than conidial inoculum, to start fermentation reduced the time required to complete the shift from vegetative growth to phialide formation. Intensive conidiation occurred immediately after the addition of culture inoculum and reached maximum levels within 68 h of fermentation. Dry weight of biomass increased with the duration of fermentation and was greatest at 96 h. However, no improvements in conidia/gram and CFU/gram were achieved after 72 h of fermentation. The desiccation tolerance of conidia harvested at 72 or 96 h was significantly (P = 0.05) greater than that of conidia harvested at 48 h of fermentation. Results obtained from this study could be used for further scale-up of the fermentation process.     

Kinetic model of disaccharide oxidation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Disaccharides were microbaially transformed to their corresponding 3-keto-derivatives by resting cells of Agrobacterium tumefaciens NCPPB 396. The kinetics and yield of this highly specific oxidation depend on several factors. The oxygen concentration especially has a major influence on the production of 3-keto-derivatives and was investigated kinetically with respect to low stationary oxygen concentrations in solution. Experiments showed unconventional results that conflicted with normal Michaelis-Menten kinetics. A kinetic model was developed and the kinetic constants were calculated. The model and experimental data for sucrose, maltose, iso-maltulose (palatinose), and leucrose are in good agreement with each other. Initial reaction rates with different sugars using constant oxygen concentrations resulted in a Michaelis-Mentent type function. The complete kinetics, including the effect of disaccharide and oxygen concentrations, are presented. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Fermentation and recovery of glutamic acid from palm waste hydrolysate by Ion-exchange resin column

Glutamic acid produced from palm waste hydrolysate by fermentation with Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 is produced with a remarkably high yield compared with that produced from pure glucose as a carbon source. The produce yield is 70 g/L with glucose, wherease, when palm waste hydrolysate is the fermentation medium in the same bioreactor under same conditions, it is 88 g/L. The higher yield may be attributed to the fact that this organism has the ability to convert sugars other than only glucose present in the hydrolysate. Bioreactor conditions most conducive for maximum production are pH 7.5, temperature of 30 degrees rmentation period of 48 h, inoculum size 6%, substrate concentration of 10 g per 100 mL, yeast extract 0.5 g per 100 mL as a suitable N source, and biotin at a concentration of 10 pg/L. Palm waste hydrolysate used in this study was prepared by enzymic saccharification of treated palm press fiber under conditions that yielded a maximum of 30 g/L total reducing sugars. Glutamic acid from fermentation broth was recovered by using a chromatographic column (5cm x 60 cm) packed with a strong ion-exchange resin. The filtered broth containing glutamic acid and other inorganic ions was fed to the fully charged column. The broth was continuously recycled at a flow rate of 50 mL/min (retention time of 55 min) until glutamic acid was fully adsorbed on the column leaving other ions in the effluent. Recovery was done by eluting with urea and sodium hydroxide for total displacement of glutamic acid from the resin. The eluent containing 88 g/L of glutamic acid was concentrated by evaporation to obtain solid crystals of the product. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Production of a lipopeptide antibiotic, surfactin, by recombinant Bacillus subtilis in solid state fermentation

Production of a lipopeptide antibiotic, surfactin, in solid state fermentation (SSF) on soybean curd residue, Okara, as a solid substrate was carried out using Bacillus subtilis MI113 with a recombinant plasmid pC112, which contains lpa-14, a gene related to surfactin production cloned at our laboratory from a wild-type surfactin producer, B. subtilis RB14. The optimal moisture content and temperature for the production of surfactin were 82% and 37 degrees C, respectively. The amount of surfactin produced by MI113 (pC112) was as high as 2.0 g/kg wet weight, which was eight times as high as that of the original B. subtilis RB14 at the optimal temperature for surfactin production, 30 degrees C. Although the stability of the plasmid showed a similar pattern in both SSF and submerged fermentation (SMF), production of surfactin in SSF was 4-5 times more efficient than in SMF. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An autoclavable glucose biosensor for microbial fermentation monitoring and control

The design, construction, and characterization of a prototype-regenerable glucose biosensor based on the reversible immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) using cellulose binding domain (CBD) technology is described. GOx, chemically linked to CBD, is immobilized by binding to a cellulose matrix on the sensor-indicating electode. Enzyme immobilization can be reversed by perfusing the cellulose matrix with a suitable eluting solution. An autocavable sensor membrane system is employed which is shown to be practical for use in real microbial fermentations. The prototype glucose biosensor was used without failure or deterioration during fed-batch fermentations of Escherichia coli reaching a maximum cell density of 85 g (dry weight)/L. Medium glucose concentration based on sensor output correlated closely with off-line glucose analysis and was controlled manually at 0.44 +/- 0.2 g/L for 2 h based on glucose sensor output. The sensor enzyme component could be eluted and replaced without interrupting the fermentation. To our knowledge, no other in situ biosensor has been used for such an extended period of time in such a high-cell-density fermentation. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Enhanced acetone-butanol fermentation using repeated fed-batch operation coupled with cell recycle by membrane and simultaneous removal of inhibitory products by adsorption

A novel acetone-butanol production process was developed which integrates a repeated fed-batch fermentation with continuous product removal and cell recycle. The inhibitory product concentrations of the fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum were reduced by the simultaneous extraction process using polyvinylpyridine (PVP) as an adsorbent. Because of the reduced inhibition effect, a higher specific cell growth rate and thus a higher product formation rate was achieved. The cell recycle using membrane separation increased the total cell mass density and, therefore, enhanced the reactor productivity. The repeated fed-batchoperation overcame the drawbacks typically associated with a batch operation such as down times, long lag period, and the limitation on the maximum initial substrate concentration allowed due to the substrate inhibition. Unlike a continuous operation, the repeated fed-batch operation could beoperated for a long time at a relatively higher substrate concentration without sacrificing the substrate loss in the effluent. As a result, the integrated process reached 47.2 g/L in the equivalent solvent concentration (including acetone, butanol, and ethanol) and 1.69 g/L . h in the fermentor productivity, on average, over a 239.5-h period. Compared with a controlled traditional batch acetone-butanol fermentation, the equivalent solvent concentration and the tormentor productivity were increased by 140% and 320%, respectively. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons Inc.