Citric acid production from glucose. II. Growth and excretion kinetics in a trickleflow fermentor

The growth and citric acid production kinetics of Saccharomycopsis lipolytica on glucose is investigated in a trickle‐flow fermentor. Liquid hold‐up and oxygen‐transfer coefficient in the reactor column filled with cylindrical wood chips have been determined and found in agreement with chemical engineering correlations. Citric acid production starts at the end of the growth phase and proceeds at a constant specific rate of 0.025 hr−1for about 80 hr. The fermentor can then be regenerated by addition of ammonia, which induces new growth and excretion phases. Comparing the metabolic behavior of free and immobilized cells, two main kinetic differences are observed. First, the growth phase is linear with the bound cells instead of exponential in the stirred fermentor. Second, in the trickle‐bed fermentor acid productivity and oxygen acid yield are reduced by 30%. Oxygen diffusional limitations, mainly in the biomass film, and alterations in bound cell metabolism are shown to be responsible of the kinetic modifications. Simple modelizations of oxygen diffusion effects are also presented to support the interpretation of the experimental data.