Continuous production of lactic acid from molasses by free and immobilized Sporolactobacillus cellulosolvens

Both free and immobilized cells of Sporolactobacillus cellulosolvens, in continuous culture on molasses (50 g sugar 1^-1) at 40°C, had maximum lactic acid productivities of 0.03 and 0.06 mol l^-1 h, at dilution rates of 0.27 and 0.25 h^-1, respectively.S.S. Kanwar is with the Department of Biotechnology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143 005, India; B.S. Chadha is with the Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143 005, India. H.K. Tewari and V.K. Sharma are with the Department of Microbiology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141 004, India.