Cell growth CSTF

Cell Growth in Batch Fermentors and Continuous Stirred-Tank Fermentors (CSTF) S3... 

There are two different ways of operating a continuous stirred-tank fermentor, namely chemostat and turbidostat. In the chemostat, the flow rate of the feed medium and the liquid volume in the fermentor are kept constant. The rate of cell growth will then adjusts itself to the substrate concentration, which depends on the feed rate and substrate consumption by the growing cells. In the turbidostat the liquid volume in the fermentor and the liquid turbidity, which varies with the cell concentration, are kept constant by adjusting the liquid flow rate. Whereas, turbidostat operation requires a device to monitor the cell concentration (e.g., an optical sensor) and a control system for the flow rate, chemostat is much simpler to operate and hence is far more commonly used for continuous fermentation. The characteristics of the continuous stirred-tank fermentor (CSTF), when operated as a chemostat, is discussed in Chapter 12. 

The last term in equation 5.245 represents the dilution of active component /, by the expansion of the biomass. Esener et al.m also present a two-compartment model which takes this effect into account and they emphasise the need to devise the theory so that it can be tested by experiment. In their model they identify a K compartment of the biomass which comprised the RNA and other small cellular molecules. The other compartment contained the larger genetic material, enzymes, and structural material. The model assumes that the substrate is absorbed by the cell to produce, in the first instance, K material, and thence it is transformed into G material. Additionally, the G material can be reconverted to K material, a feature intended to account for the maintenance requirement of the micro-organism. A series of material balances for the cellular components during growth in a CSTF produced the following differential equations ... 

If the final cell concentration is larger than CXopt, the best combination of two fermenters for a minimum total residence time is a CSTF operated at CXopt followed by a PFF, as explained already. However, the cultivation of microorganisms in the PFF is limited to several experimental cases, such as the tubular loop batch fermenter (Russell et al., 1974) and scraped tubular fermenter (Moo-Young et al., 1979). Furthermore, the growth kinetics in a PFF can be significantly different from that in a CSTF. 

A strain of yeast is being cultivated in a 30-L CSTF with a cell recycling system (cell settler) as shown in the following figure. The cell settler was designed so that the cell concentration of its outlet stream is 30 percent of that of its inlet stream, whereas the substrate concentrations of the two streams are the same. The growth rate of the cells can be represented by the Monod kinetics with the parameters Ks = 0.05 g/L, max = 0.3 h-1, and YX/s = 0.025. Calculate the steady-state substrate and cell concentrations in the fermenter. The inlet substrate concentration is 100 g/L and the flow rate is 20 L/hr. The feed stream is sterile. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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