Effect of oxygen transfer rate on cellulases production in stirred tank and internal-loop airlift bioreactors

Abstract

In an aerobic process, such as enzymes production by fungi, the oxygen supply into fermentation medium is an important factor in order to achieve good productivities. Oxygen has an important role in metabolism and microorganism growth, being of extreme importance the control of both the dissolved oxygen transfer rate into the bioreactor and the oxygen consumption by the microorganism [1,2]. Dissolved oxygen transfer rate can be analyzed and described by means of the mass transfer coefficient, KLa, being one of the most important parameters for the design and operation of mixing/sparging of aerobic bioreactors. (…)