1/25/2018

Stoichiometry
of Cell
Growth and
Product
Formation

Dimaano, Joy Anne D.

ChE-5201

Law of Conservation
of Mass

It has been used to

determine unknown
quantities entering or leaving
bioprocesses.

Metabolic
Stoichiometry
It has many applications in
bioprocessing: as well as in mass and
energy balances, it can be used to
compare theoretical and actual yields,
check the consistency of experimental
fermentation data, and formulate
nutrient data.

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I. Growth
Stoichiometry
General Equation for Aerobic Cell
Growth

CwHxOyNz + aO2 + bHgOhNi  cCHαOβNδ + dCO2 + eH2O

I. Growth
Stoichiometry
Elemental Composition and Degree of Reduction for
Selected Organisms
Organism Elemental formula Degree of reduction γ (relative to NH3)
Bacteria
Aerobacter aerogenes CH1.83O0.55N0.25 3.98
Echericha coli CH1.77O0.49N0.24 4.07
Klebsiella aerogenes CH1.75O0.43N0.22 4.23
Klebsiella aerogenes CH1.73O0.43N0.24 4.15
Klebsiella aerogenes CH1.75O0.47N0.17 4.30
Klebsiella aerogenes CH1.73O0.43N0.24 4.15
Paracoccus denitrificans CH1.81O0.51N0.20 4.19
Paracoccus denitrificans CH1.51O0.46N0.19 3.96
Pseudomonas C12B CH2.00O0.52N0.23 4.27
Fungi
Candida utilis CH1.83O0.54N0.10 4.45
Candida utilis CH1.87O0.56N0.20 4.15
Candida utilis CH1.83O0.46N0.19 4.34
Candida utilis CH1.87O0.56N0.20 4.15
Saccharomyces cerevisiae CH1.64O0.52N0.16 4.12
Saccharomyces cerevisiae CH1.83O0.56N0.17 4.20
Saccharomyces cerevisiae CH1.81O0.51N0.17 4.28
Average CH1.79O0.50N0.20 4.19 (standard deviation = 3%)

I. Growth
Stoichiometry
Conversion of Substrate, Oxygen, and Nitrogen
for Cell Growth

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II. Elemental
Balances
C balance: 𝑤 = 𝑐 + 𝑑
H balance: 𝑥 + 𝑏𝑔 = 𝑐𝛼 + 2𝑒
O balance: 𝑦 + 2𝑎 + 𝑏ℎ = 𝑐𝛽 + 2𝑑 + 𝑒
N balance: 𝑧 + 𝑏𝑖 = 𝑐𝛿
Respiratory Quotient:
moles CO2 produced 𝑑
𝑅𝑄 = =
moles O2 consumed 𝑎

II. Elemental
Balances
 Example Problem:
Production of single-cell protein from hexadecane is
described by the following reaction equation;

C16H34 + aO2 + bNH3  cCH1.66O0.27N0.20 + dCO2 + eH2O

where CH1.66O0.27N0.20 represents the biomass. If RQ =

0.43, determine the stoichiometric coefficients.

II. Elemental
Balances
Solution:

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II. Elemental
Balances
Solution:

II. Elemental
Balances
Solution:

III.Electron Balances

Available electrons
- number of electrons available for
transfer to oxygen on combustion of a
substance to CO2, H2O, and nitrogen-
containing compounds.
For substrate CwHxOyNz:
Number of available electrons = 4𝑤 + 𝑥 − 2𝑦 − 3𝑧

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III.Electron Balances

Degree of reduction, γ,
- the number of equivalents of available
electrons in that quantity of material
containing 1g atom carbon.

4𝑤 + 𝑥 − 2𝑦 − 3𝑧
𝛾 =
𝑤

III.Electron Balances

The available electron balance:

Number of available electrons in the substrate + Number of
available electrons in O2 = Number of available electrons
in the biomass
or

𝑤𝛾 − 4𝑎 = 𝑐𝛾

IV.Biomass Yield

g cells produced
𝛾 =
g substrate consumed

𝑐(MW cells)
𝛾 =
MW substrate