• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.751-756
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• 1999

For mass production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), high cell density cultures of Ralstonia eutropha were carried out in 2.5-1 and 60-1 fermentors by two fed-batch culture techniques of nitrogen and phosphate limitation. When the nitrogen limitation technique was employed using both an on-line glucose monitoring and control system, a high concentration level of PHB (121g/l) was obtained in the small-scale fermentor of 2.5 1. However, the PHB concentration obtained in a large-scale fermentor of 60 1 only turned out to be 60g/l. In contrast, when another fed-batch culture technique of the phosphate-limitation employing dissolved oxygen (DO) stat glucose feeding was used, a large amount of PHB was successfully produced in both 60-1 and 2.5-1 fermentors. In a 2.5-1 fermentor, concentrations of PHB and cells obtained in 58 h were 175 and 210 g/l, respectively, which corresponded to the PHB productivity level of 3.02 g/l/h. In a 60-1 fermentor, a final cell concentration of 221 g/l and a PHB concentration of 180 g/l with PHB productivity level of 3.75 g/l/h were obtained in 48h. PHB content and yield from glucose were 81% and 0.38g PHB/g glucose, respectively. These data suggest that the phosphate limitation technique is more effective compared to nitrogen limitation in the mass production of PHB by R. eutropha of a large scale.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.284-290
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• 1999

Glucose fed-batch culture was studied to improve cellulose productivity by Acetobacter xylinum BRC5. When initial glucose concentrations in batch cultures were less than 20 g/L, yield coefficients of cellulose (Yp/s) remained a constant value of 0.21 g cellulose/g glucose. But a low yield coefficient, Yp/s=0.13 was obtained from an initial glucose concentration of 40 g/L. Since initial high glucose concentrations in batch culture resulted in low yields of cellulose, constant fed-batch cultures were carried out. The optimal feed rate for fed-batch culture was 2.22 g glucose/L.h. In constant fed-batch culture without DO control, 10 g/L of cellulose was obtained from 40 g/L of glucose with this feed rate, which was approximately two fold higher than that of the batch culture with the same initial glucose concentration. In DO stat plus fed-batch culture, the highest cellulose productivity could be obtained when dissolved oxygen level was controlled at 10% of air saturation, and cellulose productivity increased about 1.5 times compared with that of the culture without DO control.