Growth of Nitrosomonas europaea in batch and in continuous culture

Summary

Techniques are described in this paper for growing Nitrosomonas europea in batch and in continuous culture with apparatus constructed from readily available laboratory materials.

The methods employed in batch culture have enabled the collection of cells concentrated in small volumes.

Nitrosomonas europaea has been grown successfully in continuous culture and yields of 23 g wet weight were obtained, an average of 0.16 g/l with a flow rate of 300 ml/h over twenty days. Results show that high levels of nitrite do not materially affect the growth of the bacterium. The continuous culture equipment has also been used to grow Azotobacter vinelandii and Thiobacillus concretivorus.