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A short review and an empirical method for estimating the absorbed enthalpy of formation and the absolute enthalpy of dried microbial biomass for use in studies on the thermodynamics of microbial growth

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Abstract

The equation Δr X = Δr H − Δr Q represents a calculated free-energy change when the exchange of absorbed thermal energy in a chemical system represented by TΔr S in the Gibbs free-energy equation is replaced by Δr Q. The symbol Q is used in place of H [enthalpy = H T  − H 0 = H T ] to represent absorbed thermal energy. Acquiring the experimental data for determining both S and Q requires the use of a low-temperature calorimeter to measure C p as a function of T/K and these are not generally available. In a previous study it was demonstrated that for one unit-carbon formula dry weight of cells, Δf S biomass = − 0.813 ∑S atoms and S biomass = 0.187 ∑S atoms, where ∑S atoms represents the sum of the entropies of the numbers and kinds of atoms in the biomass. Using similar techniques, it is shown here that Δf Q biomass = − 0.648 ∑Q atoms and that Q biomass = 0.352 ∑Q atoms, where ∑Q atoms represents the sum of the absorbed thermal energies of the numbers and kinds of atoms in the biomass. Because mathematically the value of TS for solid substances is twice that of Q for the same T/K (usually referenced at 298.15 K), one of these values must be physically incorrect. There cannot be two different values for the quantity of thermal energy which must be absorbed to raise the temperature of the same quantity of the same substance from 0 K to a given temperature. The argument is made that the use of Q is preferable to the use of S in the calculation of free-energy changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5245, USA

    Edwin H. Battley

  2. 64 Cedar Street, Stony Brook, NY, 11790, USA

    Edwin H. Battley

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  1. Edwin H. Battley
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Battley, E.H. A short review and an empirical method for estimating the absorbed enthalpy of formation and the absolute enthalpy of dried microbial biomass for use in studies on the thermodynamics of microbial growth. J Therm Anal Calorim 104, 13–22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-010-1058-4

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