Carbon limiting

Class Fixed carbon limits, % Volatile matter limits range, % Calorific value limits, J/kg ... 

Fixed carbon limits (dry, mineral-matter-free basis), % Volatile matter limits (dry, mineral-matter-free basis), % Gi (moist OSS calorific value limits mineral-matter-free basis) ... 

This relationship is very useful experimentally because it can be used to determine both Y x and m. In practice, carbon limited chemostats are used and Yx/s is measured at... 

In practice, carbon limited chemostat cultures are used to estimate the P/O quotient These conditions are used because they favour the most efficient conversion of the carbon substrate into cellular material, ie the highest efficiency of energy conservation. The steady state respiration rate (qo,) is measured as a function of dilution rate (specific growth rate) and Yq can be obtained from the reciprocal of the slope of the plot. qo, is also known as the metabolic quotient for oxygen or the specific rate of oxygen consumption. 

The energetic requirements of exopolysaccharide production from various carbon sources can be calculated if the P/O quotient during growth on the carbon substrate is known. Table 3.1 shows molar growth yields measured during carbon limited growth in chemostat culture. 

NOTE The calcium carbonate limit that RO system designers typically require is +1.6 to 1.8 LSI in the concentrate or reject water, and the calcium sulfate design limit typically calls for a maximum reject water saturation ratio of 1.6 to 1.8 times solubility product. 

We did not feel any of these methods would work reliably on a commercial scale at current densities in the range of 300 mA cm"2 or for commercial periods (at least 4000 hr). Rudge s work9,10 with porous carbon anodes was a very elegant solution to the problem (and formed the basis for the Phillips Electrochemical Fluorination process), but the high electrical resistance of the porous carbon limited it to small anodes at high current densities or lower current densities on large anodes. 

W. Cheng, Q. Zhang, D. C. Coleman, C. R. Carroll, and C. A. Hoffman, Is available carbon limiting microbial respiration in the rhizosphere Soil Biol. Biochem. 28 1283 (1996). 

Carbon limiting is also used to encourage enzyme induction, place the population under selective pressure for degradation of recalcitrant substrates, and favor the simultaneous rather than sequential metabolism of a mixed carbon source.33 Carbon-limiting conditions can be achieved either through continuous culture (chemostat) or through a fed batch reaction. 

A high level of poly(3HB) accumulation is also obtained if the cells are grown under carbon substrate limitation, and the cultivation in the second fermenter is also carried out under carbon limitation. In this case, a substrate flow rate (F2) below that corresponding to the maximum specific poly(3HB) formation rate should be chosen [114]. This cultivation strategy is especially convenient when using toxic substrates like acetic acid. Low substrate concentrations are more conveniently maintained in continuous cultivation than in fed-batch cultivation. The only additional equipment needed is a system to ensure constant working volumes and flow rates. 

To perform fed-batch experiments with P. putida a method had to be developed to prevent carbon limitation and to prevent a buildup of the concentration of the fatty acids to inhibitory levels. HPLC methods to measure the concentration of aliphatic substrates and octanoic acid have been reported, but these are not suitable for the detection of long chain fatty acids in a watery phase due to their low solubility. Instead Huijberts et al. [55, 56] developed a method in which discrete pulses of fatty acids were added to fed-batch cultures. Substrate exhaustion was detected by a sudden increase in dissolved oxygen tension and this signal was used to trigger the injection of another fatty acid pulse into the... 

A. K. Srivastava and B. Volesky, NADH fluorescence in a carbon-limited fermentation, Biotechnol. Bioeng. 38, 191-195 (1991b). 

Figure 2. Effects of carbon and nitrogen limitation on the production of LiP and MnP activities. Carbon limited cultures ( ) Nitrogen limited cultures ( ). Carbon limited cultures contained per liter 0.66 g diammonium sulfate and 2 g glucose. Nitrogen limited cultures were the same as the controls. They contained 0.2 g diammonium tartrate and 10 g glucose. All cultures received 11.2 ppm Mn(II).

The predominance limits shown in figure 8.22 are analytically summarized in table 8.17. Compare figures 8.22 and 8.21 to better visualize the redox state of the anionic ligands at the various Eh-pH conditions of interest (particularly the sulfide-sulfate transition and carbonate limits). We remand to Garrels and Christ (1965) for a more detailed account on the development of complex Eh-pH diagrams. 

This proportionality is called the yield of the particular biological process, and it is commonly denoted as Y. For carbon-limiting substrates oxidized by aerobes, biomass yields are usually near 0.5 g biomass-g"1 carbon (Neidhardt et al., 1990). Using yield information relevant to a particular compound/microbial species combination, we can now relate the production rate of new cells to the disappearance rate of the chemical of concern ... 

Figure 3. Rates of sulfate reduction (all measured with 35S) reported in the literature (references in Table I) show no obvious relationship to either sediment carbon content or carbon sedimentation rates (measured with sediment traps). The lowest reported rate of sulfate reduction occurs in the lake with the lowest carbon sedimentation rate, but there is no evidence of carbon limitation among the other lakes. Error bars indicate the range of reported sulfate reduction rates.

Existing data lend mixed support to the hypothesis that sulfate reduction is limited by availability of electron donors. Laboratory studies have shown that sulfate reduction in sediments can be stimulated by addition of carbon substrates or hydrogen (e.g., 85, 86). Increases in storage of reduced sulfur in sediments caused by or associated with addition of organic matter (108, 109) also have been interpreted as an indication that sulfate reduction is carbon-limited. Addition of nutrients to Lake 227 in the Experimental Lakes Area resulted in increased primary production and increased storage of sulfur in sediments (110, 111). Natural eutrophication has been observed to cause the same effect (23, 24, 112). Small or negligible decreases in sulfate concentrations in pore waters of ultra-oligotrophic lakes have been interpreted... 

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