Glucose-consuming processes

Two and twelve moles of ATP are produced, respectively, per mole of glucose consumed in the glycolytic pathway and each turn of the Krebs (citrate) cycle. In fat metaboHsm, many high energy bonds are produced per mole of fatty ester oxidized. Eor example, 129 high energy phosphate bonds are produced per mole of palmitate. Oxidative phosphorylation has a remarkable 75% efficiency. Three moles of ATP are utilized per transfer of two electrons, compared to the theoretical four. The process occurs via a series of reactions involving flavoproteins, quinones such as coenzyme Q, and cytochromes. 

When the bacterium Zymomonas mobilis is used to produce ethanol from glucose in an anaerobic process with ammonia as the nitrogen source, it is found that bacteria biomass is produced to the extent of 0.06 C-moles per C-mole of glucose. The biomass has an elemental composition of CHi.sObjNo. . What are the fractional conversion of glucose to ethanol (on a C-mole basis), the amount of ammonia used, and the amount of carbon dioxide produced per C-moIe of glucose consumed ... 

The theoretical maximum of acetic acid yield on glucose is 67 percent (two moles of acetic acid produced from every mole of glucose consumed) by this route. A homo-fermentative culture, Clostridium thermo-aceticum, is known to be capable of fixing CO2 and yielding three moles of acetic acid from one mole of glucose under anaerobic conditions. The technology for this process has not been commercialized, however. 

Consumption of citric acid Causes a rapid start-up of the fermentation process under low-pH conditions, avoiding competition with sucrose- (glucose-) consuming, citrate-negative, depectinizing yeasts Causes a pH increase (replacement of citric acid by lactic acid and acetic acid), in turn controlling bacterial growth Beneficial for the production of pyruvate metabolites Stimulates amino acid conversions... 

In the area of consumer products, amperometric glucose sensors hold high potential. Industrially, process monitors for the manufacture of consumer chemicals are under development. However, replacement of defective reference electrodes, which in a laboratory environment may be trivial, may be prohibitively difficult m vivo or in an industrial process environment. 

Fats such as palmitic acid are metabolized through pathways similar to the ones for the oxidation of glucose. The complete oxidation of palmitic acid has a standard free energy change of-9790 kJ/mol and produces 130 ATP molecules per molecule of palmitic acid consumed. You should be able to verily that this metabolic process has about the same efficiency as the oxidation of glucose. 

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