Rheological Properties of Mycelial Broth in Submerged Culture of Aspergillus niger No. PFST-38

The flow behavior of the mycelial broth of glucoamylase hyperproducer Asp. niger No. PFST-38 for the production of glucoamylase were studied. The mycelial broth followed Bingham-pseudoplastic flow model described by Herschel-Bulkley equation. The yield stress increased with the increase in mycelial concentration. The dependency of the consistency index and the flow behavior index on the mycelial concentration could be expressed by a linear relationship. The consistency index increased proportionally with the mycelial concentration while the flow behavior index decreased with the increase in mycelial concentration. The flow property of the broth was related to the morphological data obtain in the previous study. The changes in apparent viscosity of the broth could be expressed as a function of the hyphal thickness as shown below.