Bacterial cellulose production by Acetobacter xylinum in a 50-L internal-loop airlift reactor.
Bacterial cellulose (BC) production was realized in a batch cultivation of Acetobacter xylinum subsp. sucrofermentans BPR2001 in a 50-L internal-loop airlift reactor. When the bacterium was cultivated with air supply, 3.8 g/L of BC was produced after 67 hours. When oxygen-enriched gas was supplied, the concentration of BC was doubled and the production rate of BC was 0.116 g/L. h, which was two times higher than that of air-supplied culture and comparable to that in a mechanically agitated stirred-tank fermentor. Bacterial cellulose produced by the airlift reactor formed a unique ellipse pellet (BC pellet), different from the fibrous form which was produced in an agitated stirred-tank fermentor. The BC-pellet suspension was demonstrated to have a higher volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient than the fibrous BC suspension in a 50-L internal-loop airlift reactor. The mixing time of BC-pellet suspension in the airlift reactor was also shorter than that in water.
Chao
Y
Y
Research Laboratory of Resources Utilization, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8503 Japan.
Ishida
T
T
Sugano
Y
Y
Shoda
M
M
D000388:Air; D019149:Bioreactors; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D002482:Cellulose / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D041822:Gluconacetobacter xylinus / Q000378:metabolism*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism
D002244:Carbon; D002482:Cellulose; D010100:Oxygen