The influence of preculture on the process performance of penicillin V production in a 100-l air-lift tower loop reactor

Abstract

The influence of stirrer speed in the third preculture on the performance of penicillin V production by Penicillium chrysogenum in complex medium in a 100-l air-lift tower loop reactor was investigated. The process performance in the main culture was improved by increasing the stirrer speed from 500 to 750 rpm: the pellet size was reduced to half, the cell growth was influenced only slightly, but the production phase was extended considerably, and the final penicillin concentration was increased from 5.1 g l-1 to 10.4 g l-1.

Effects of rheological change by addition of carboxymethylcellulose in culture media of an air-lift fermentor on poly-D-3-hydroxybutyric acid productivity in autotrophic culture of hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Alcaligenes eutrophus

“…In recent years, air-lift fermentors have often been used for production of penicillin (Möller et al, 1992), ␣-amylase (Chevalier and de la Noüe, 1988), xanthan (Suh et al, 1992), and single cell protein (Westlake, 1986), instead of the traditional stirred-tank fermentor. Because the air-lift fermentor does not require mechanical agitation, the energy consumption is lower than that of a stirred-tank fermentor.…”