title: Suspended rice particles for cultivation of Monascus purpureus in a tower-type bioreactor.
abstract: Cultivation of Monascus purpureus (CCRC 31615) for the production of natural pigments was investigated. Traditionally, Monascus species were grown on rice by solid-state culture. For large-scale cultivation, solid-state cultures were associated with some problems such as contamination and scale-up. By using submerged cultures with rice particles, a stirred-tank fermentor was not suitable for submerged cultures as the impeller tended to break the particles into small pieces. A conventional bubble column was also unsuitable as its mixing capability was poor. In the present study, a modified bubble column with wire-mesh draft tubes was employed for the cultivation of M. purpureus. The proposed column had a shorter mixing time and a higher oxygen transfer rate relative to the conventional bubble column. The production of pigments using the proposed column was up to 80% higher than that achieved using the conventional bubble column.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chien
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D019149:Bioreactors; D003470:Culture Media; D012275:Oryza / Q000382:microbiology*; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D010860:Pigments, Biological