| Abstract: | Biomass can be converted to sugars by hydrolysis with enzymes or mineral acids. These sugars can be converted into a number of chemical intermediates in biological reactors. Biological reactions are generally slow and selection of the most efficient reactor is important in these applications. Immobilized-cell reactors allow high cell densities and high throughput by attaching the microorganisms to a fixed support. This paper examines the rate of production of ethanol from glucose by Saccharomyces cerevisia in a packed column. These rates are compared with those for the same reaction in a stirred reactor. |
