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Estimating the cellular maintenance coefficient and its use in the design of two-phase partitioning bioscrubbers

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering volume 33, pages 731–739 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

One of the key roles of an organic solvent has emerged to be the enhancement of oxygen transfer in two-phase partitioning bioscrubbers (TPPBs). In order to determine an optimum organic fraction for a given VOCs loading, the oxygen demand of the total cell mass must be estimated, which depends upon the magnitude of the cellular maintenance coefficient. We have estimated the dynamics of the maintenance coefficient for benzene degradation by Achromobacter xylosoxidans Y234 in a TPPB and found that the maintenance coefficient generally decreased as cells accumulated in the TPPB but converged to a specific value of 1.750 × 10−2 h−1 at biological steady state. Due to its important influence on all of the essential design parameters of the TPPB system, including optimum organic fraction, aeration rate and agitation speed, the maintenance coefficient should be considered as a key biological determinant for microorganism selection, as well as in overall TPPB design.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (KRF-2008-331-D00127) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Applied Chemical Engineering, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwondo, 210-702, Korea

    Sung Ho Yeom

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Sung Ho Yeom & Andrew J. Daugulis

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    David R. Nielsen

Authors
  1. Sung Ho Yeom
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  2. Andrew J. Daugulis
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  3. David R. Nielsen
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Daugulis.

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Yeom, S.H., Daugulis, A.J. & Nielsen, D.R. Estimating the cellular maintenance coefficient and its use in the design of two-phase partitioning bioscrubbers. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 33, 731–739 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-009-0395-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-009-0395-9

Keywords

  • Two-phase partitioning bioscrubber
  • Benzene
  • Maintenance coefficient
  • Cell mass
  • Loading rate
  • Oxygen requirement