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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 July; 46(1): 264-278
Copyright © 1983, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ethanol Production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Immobilized in Hollow-Fiber Membrane Bioreactors

Douglas S. Inloes, Dean P. Taylor, Stanley N. Cohen, Alan S. Michaels and Channing R. Robertson

¹ Departments of Chemical Engineering and Genetics, ² Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305

ABSTRACT

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 4126 was grown within the macroporous matrix of asymmetric-walled polysulfone hollow-fiber membranes and on the exterior surfaces of isotropic-walled polypropylene hollow-fiber membranes. Nutrients were supplied and products were removed by single-pass perfusion of the fiber lumens. Growth of yeast cells within the macrovoids of the asymmetric-walled membranes attained densities of greater than 10¹⁰ cells per ml and in some regions accounted for nearly 100% of the available macrovoid volume, forming a tissue-like mass. A radial distribution of cell packing existed across the fiber wall, indicating an inadequate glucose supply to cells located beyond 100 µm from the lumen surface. By comparison, yeast cell growth on the exterior surfaces of the isotropic-walled membranes resulted in an average density of 3.5 x 10⁹ viable cells per ml. Ethanol production by reactors containing isotropic polypropylene fibers reached a maximum value of 26 g/liter-h based on the total reactor volume. Reactor performance depended on the fiber packing density and on the glucose medium flow rate and was limited by low nutrient and product transport rates. The inhibition of ethanol production and the reduction in fermentation efficiency arose primarily from the accumulation of CO₂ gas within the sealed reactor shell space.

Present address: Corporate Research and Development, Monsanto Co., St. Louis, MO 63167.

Present address: Department of Molecular Genetics, Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, PA 19101.

Present address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, and Department of Chemical Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015.

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