CHE 503: BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING

(1st Semester, A.Y. 2019-2020)

PROBLEM SET 3
Stoichiometry of Microbial Growth; Chemostat

DECLARATION

This problem set is solely accomplished by our group. Each member contributed an approximate equal share of work and
thus accept the group mark, which will be credited as our individual mark for this specific assessment.

STUDENT NAME SIGNATURE

_____________________________________ ___________________________

_____________________________________ ___________________________

_____________________________________ ___________________________

DUE DATE September 7, 2019

DATE SUBMITTED: ___________________

IMPORTANT:

Please submit a complete electronic copy of this work to ramos.michaelallan@gmail.com in PDF format. Failure to do so
may result to zero mark.

Subject Line: CHE503-PS3-“SURNAME of one member”

PROBLEM 1
Three different strains of a certain species of yeast are being considered for production of ethanol thru fermentation of glucose
in presence of ammonia as nitrogen source.

𝑎𝐶# 𝐻%& 𝑂# + 𝑏𝑂& + 𝑐𝑁𝐻, → 𝐶𝐻%.## 𝑂/.0# 𝑁/.%# + 𝑑𝐶𝑂& + 𝑒𝐻& 𝑂 + 𝑓𝐶& 𝐻# 𝑂

The biomass yield on glucose (g/g) for the different strains is given in the table below.

Strain Anaerobic Metabolism Aerobic Metabolism

BME-393 0.13
BME-847 0.10 0.50
BME-456 0.05

The fermenter is being initially operated at aerobic condition to promote the growth of the microorganism, then switched to
anaerobic condition to initiate the production of a secondary metabolite, non-associated growth product such as the ethanol.
It can be assumed that no ethanol will be produced during aerobic growth.

a) If you are tasked to select the best strain to be used for ethanol production, which strain would you recommend?
Justify your answer.
b) Using the chosen strain in (a), the fermenter is initially charged with 150 g/L of glucose and 2.5 g/L of yeast. It is then
operated aerobically to achieve at least 25 g/L of yeast in the culture before being switched to anaerobic operation.
Estimate the maximum ethanol and cell concentration achievable. Assume a glucose-limited growth.

PROBLEM 2
The chemostat growth of a microorganism on glucose-limiting substrate gave a cell production rate of:

0.4.S 6 8
u= . (Hint: by Monod: 𝜇 = 9 7;8 )
1.5 + S :

Where 𝜇 = specific growth rate in hr-1 and S = substrate concentration in g/L. It is desired to process 100 liters of feed per
hour containing 10 g/L substrate using a 1000L-capacity reactor. The yield coefficient YX/S can be taken as 0.50.

a. Without having a recycle, determine X, S and productivity, P.

b. If the chemostat is installed with a recycle, determine X1, X2, S, p with R = 10L/hr and C=5
c. Determine X, S, P at optimum condition. Compare with results in a and b.
d. Determine the dilution rate at wash-out. Compare flowrates, F, with optimum setting.
e. Vary the dilution rate from 0.10 to 0.40 with a set increment for both with and without recycle. In a single graph, plot
X, S, P vs. the dilution rate for without recycle. X1, X2, S, P vs. the dilution rate for with recycle in a separate graph.
f. In the constructed plots from (e), graphically determine and label the dilution rate leading to wash-out condition. Do
the same for substrate concentration.

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