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Physical and chemical parameters of microbial growth

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Bioprocess Parameter Control

Part of the book series: Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology ((ABE,volume 30))

Abstract

The observable behavior of a living cell in submerged culture results from the nature of underlying genetic information and its expression. Any expression of the genes is a matter of enzyme activity, which in turn is influenced by numerous factors of metabolic control mechanisms. Besides intracellularly located parameters, environmental factors also play an important role in the actual performance of microbes during growth.

The present review deals with those parameters that act on growth due to mechanisms working outside of the cell such as medium components and the methods which make them available for uptake. The numerous environmental effects can best be divided in the two categories of physical and chemical parameters.

The first category includes temperature, pressure, and the physical nature of the reaction mixture, including the problems of mixing and aeration. Emphasis is therefore given to the configuration of physical containments used in a bioprocess. The ultimate goal of any containment is the supply of nutrients to and the removal of metabolic products from the cell and the maintenance of a uniform distribution of the liquid, gaseous, and solid phases involved in the reaction mixture. Some data are also given on new principles for agitation and aeration. The advantages and drawbacks of the classical stirred tank and the air lift reactor are mentioned and these reactors are compared to three different loop forms used in research and partly in production plants. The tendency to further develop loop forms is becoming apparent, as these allow much better control of the flow pattern, irrespective of the viscosity, the uniform distribution of components, and an optimal supply of nutrients.

The second category of extracellular parameters includes the effects of medium containing substrate, nutrients, growth factors and trace elements. The proper selection of these components and their quantities is of great importance due to their potential effects on the metabolic performance of the cell. Continuous culture methods are shown to be of high efficiency for the fast identification of these effects, and a systematic concept for medium design is developed. Such a concept can replace the troublesome and arduous medium ‘optimization’ work based on trial and error. It allows for an exact evaluation of regulatory patterns at various growth rates and is therefore most suitable for metabolic studies and investigations of product formation.

The importance of medium designing and the development of appropriate hardware for growth is illustrated by some examples from studies using yeasts and bacteria. It is concluded that improved knowledge of the influence of physical and chemical parameters is prerequisite in any consistent work on metabolism and process development.

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Abbreviations

C-limitation:

carbon limitation

C-limited:

carbon limited

D:

dilution rate (h−1)

Dc :

critical dilution rate (h−1)

DDC:

direct digital control

DR :

critical dilution rate for pure oxydative turnover (h−1)

kLa:

mass transfer coefficient (liquid film) (kmol m−3 s−1)

Ks :

saturation constant (mg l−1)

N:

revolution per minute

OTR:

oxygen transfer rate (mmol l−1 h−1)

OUR:

oxygen uptake rate (mmol l−1 h−1)

P/V:

power input (W l−1)

\(p_{o_2 }\) :

dissolved oxygen (bar)

\(q_{co_2 }\) :

specific rate of CO2 release (in moles g−1 h−1)

\(q_{o_2 }\) :

specific rate of O2 uptake (in moles g−1 h−1)

qp :

specific product formation rate (eg. g g−1 h−1)

qs :

specific uptake rate of substrate (mmoles l−1 h−1; g l−1 h−1)

RQ:

\(q_{co_2 } /q_{o_2 }\)

rx :

productivity (g g−1 h−1)

s:

substrate (g l−1)

s0 :

initial substrate concentration (g l−1)

SCP:

single cell protein

t:

time

T:

temperature

Μ:

specific growth rate (h−1)

Μmax :

maximal specific growth rate

x:

biomass (g l−1)

Y:

yield (−)

Ga:

Galilei number

Ne:

Newton number

Re:

Reynolds number

COLOR:

compact loop reactor

FBT:

flat blade turbine

JLR:

jet loop reactor

PLR:

propeller loop reactor

SLR:

short loop reactor

STR:

stirred tank reactor

TORUS:

annular configuration

TR:

tower form reactor

TLR:

tall loop reactor

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Hönggerberg, CH-8093, Zürich

    Armin Fiechter

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Fiechter, A. (1984). Physical and chemical parameters of microbial growth. In: Bioprocess Parameter Control. Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology, vol 30. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0006379

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0006379

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