Optimal operation of a repeated fed-batch bioreactor for biomass production from a methanol-utilizing bacterium

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

OSTI ID:5994460

Creagan, C C

Growth of a methanol-utilizing bacterium for the purpose of single cell production is considered with the objective of maximizing time averaged biomass production. A policy for providing a nutrient solution at a programmed rate to achieve this objective is determined. The impact of several parameters on the behavior of the system is determined through computer simulations and the results are compared to those of simulations of other modes of bioreactor operation. The model used is one in which the specific growth rate and biomass yield vary as functions of methanol concentration only. The results indicate that minimum liquid volume in the fermentor during a repeated fed-batch cycle has a significant impact on the solution. In addition, biomass productivity is many times higher than that of a continuous stirred-tank bioreactor. Experiments were conducted in a highly instrumented computer-coupled fermentor in which the theoretically determined optimal feeding policy was approximated. The effect of minimum volume was investigated and the results compared to the predicted behavior of a continuous stirred-tank bioreactor. This showed that for equal biomass productivity, the product stream of the repeated fed-batch fermentor contained less methanol than that of the comparison bioreactor.

• OSTI ID: 5994460
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504 -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
550700* -- Microbiology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ALCOHOLS
BACTERIA
BATCH CULTURE
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTORS
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COMPUTERS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
CULTURE MEDIA
GROWTH
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METABOLISM
METHANOL
MICROORGANISMS
NUTRIENTS
OPERATION
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTIVITY
QUANTITY RATIO
SIMULATION
SINGLE CELL PROTEIN
VOLUME