Sodium gluconate production byAspergillus niger with intermittent broth replacement

Intermittent broth replacement was carried out to enhance the productivity and purity of sodium gluconate usingAspergillus niger by reducing the concentration of unmetabolized glucose. As inoculum size increased, length of lag phase was shortened and high initial production rate of sodium gluconate was achieved. However, too high inoculum concentration lowered productivity during the later stage of fermentation and increased residual glucose at the end of cultivation. When culture broth was replaced intermittently with distilled water, fresh medium, or recycled medium for comparison with traditional fermentation method, production of sodium gluconate was enhanced more than 1.5 fold and active production period could be prolonged without residual glucose. In addition, productivity was maintained at a level higher than 6 g/L/nr. Therefore, it was found that the reduction of biomass and viscosity by intermittent broth replacement could enhance the productivity.