Ejercicios de aplicación Diseño de Biorreactores

1. Zymomonas mobilis is used to convert glucose to ethanol in a batch fermenter under

anaerobic conditions. The yield of biomass from substrate is 0.06 g/g; YPX is 7.7 g/g. The
maintenance coefficient is 2.2 g/g.h; the specific rate of product formation due to
maintenance is 1.1 h-1. The maximum specific growth rate of Z. mobilis is approximately
0.3 h-1. Five grams of bacteria are inoculated into 50 litres of medium containing 12 g/l
glucose. Determine the batch culture times required to:
a. Produce 10 g of biomass
b. Achieve 90% substrate conversion
c. Produce 100 g of etanol

2. The Zymomonas mobilis cells of exercise 1 are used for chemostat culture in a 60 m3
fermenter. The feed contains 12 g/l of glucose; KS for the organism is 0.2 g/l.
a. What flow rate is required for a steady-state substrate concentration of 1.5 g/l?
b. At the flow rate of (a), what is the cell density?
c. At the flow rate of (a), what concentration of ethanol is produced?

3. A 5 m3 fermenter is operated continuously using a feed substrate concentration of 20

kg/m3. The microorganism cultivated in the reactor has the following characteristics:
μmax = 0.45 h-1; KS = 0.8 kg/m3; YXS = 0.55 kg/kg.
a. What feed flow rate is required to achieve 90% substrate conversion?
b. How does the biomass productivity at 90% substrate conversion compare with the
maximum possible?

4. Calculate the steady-state substrate and biomass concentrations in a continuous

fermenter that has an operating volume of 25L when the sterile feed stream contains
limiting substrate at 2000 mg/Land enters the vessel at 8L/h. The values of KS and µm
are 10.5mg/L and 0.45 h-1, respectively, and the yield coefficient may be taken to be
0.48.

5. In a chemostat with cell recycle, the feed flow rate and culture volumes are F = 100 ml/h
and V = 1000 ml, respectively. The system is operated under glucose limitation, and the
yield coefficient, YX/S, is 0.5 g cells/g substrate. Glucose concentration in the feed is S0 =
10 g glucose/L. The kinetic constants of the organisms are µm = 0.2 h-1, Ks = 1 g glucose/L.
The value of ξ is 1.5, and the recycle ratio is R = 0.7. The system is at steady state.
a. Find the substrate concentration in the recycle stream (S).
b. Find the specific growth rate (µnet) of the organisms.
c. Find the cell (biomass) concentration in the recycle stream.
d. Find the cell concentration in the centrifuge/separator effluent (X2).

6. Two CSTFs are connected in series, the first having an operational volume of 100L and
that of these cond being 50L. The feed to the first fermenter is sterile and contains 5000
mg/L of substrate, being delivered to the fermenter at 18L/h. If the microbial growth can
be described by the Monod kinetic model with µm = 0.25 h-1 and KS = 120 mg/L, calculate
 the steady state substrate concentration in these cond vessel. What would happen if the
flow were from the 50-Lfermenter to the100-Lfermenter?

Consulta: Derivar todas las ecuaciones de diseño cuando se tiene una configuración de lote
alimentado en un reactor de tanque agitado y realizar el ejercicio propuesto.

7. (Para entregar) In a fed-batch culture operating with intermittent addition of glucose

solution, values of the following parameters are given at time t = 2 h, when the system
is at quasi-steady state.
a. Find V0 (the initial volume of the culture).
b. Determine the concentration of growth-limiting substrate in the vessel at quasi-
steady state.
c. Determine the concentration and total amount of biomass in the vessel at t = 2 h (at
quasi-steady state).
d. If qP = 0.2 g product/g cells, P0 = 0, determine the concentration of product in the
vessel at t = 2 h.