FDE320 APPLIED KINETICS (19-20 Spring) 11.05.

2020
Instructor: Prof. Dr. Alev Bayındırlı
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Çekmecelioğlu

Assistants: Serap Namlı

Ülkü Ertuğrul

PROBLEM SET 10

1. The air supply to a fermenter was turned off for a short period of time and then restarted.
A value for [O2*] of 7.3 mg/l has been determined for the operating conditions. Use the
measurements of dissolved oxygen [O2,L] values to estimate the oxygen uptake rate in
this system. (Answer: 1.01 mg/min.l)

Time (min) Dissolved Oxygen [O2,L] (mg/l)

-1 3.3
Air off 0 3.3
1 2.4
2 1.3
3 0.3
4 0.1
5 0
Air on 6 0
7 0.3
8 1
9 1.6
10 2
11 2.4
12 2.7
13 2.9
14 3
15 3.1
16 3.2
17 3.2

2. E. coli have a maximum respiration rate, qO2max, of about 240-mg O2/g-dry wt-h. It is
desired to achieve a cell mass of 20 g dry wt/l. The kLa is 120 h-1 in a 1000-l reactor
(800 l working volume). A gas stream enriched in oxygen is used (i.e., 80% O2) which
gives a value of [O2*] = 28 mg/L. If oxygen becomes limiting, growth and respiration
slow; for example,

𝑞𝑜2,𝑚𝑎𝑥 .𝑂2,𝐿
qO2 = 𝑚𝑔
0.2 𝑙 +𝑂2,𝐿

where CL is the dissolved oxygen concentration in the fermenter. What is [O2,L] when
the cell mass is at 20 g/l? (Answer: 0.45 mg/l)
FDE320 APPLIED KINETICS (19-20 Spring) 11.05.2020
Instructor: Prof. Dr. Alev Bayındırlı
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Çekmecelioğlu

Assistants: Serap Namlı

Ülkü Ertuğrul

3. In cultivation of baker’s yeast in a stirred and aerated tank, lethal agents are added to
the fermentation medium to kill the organisms immediately. Increase in dissolved
oxygen [O2,L] concentration upon addition of lethal agents is followed with the aid of
an analyzer and a recorder. Using the following data, determine the oxygen transfer
coefficient (kLa) for the reactor. Saturation concentration is [O2*] = 9 mg/l. (Answer:
0.3885 min-1)

Time Dissolved Oxygen [O2,L] (mg/l)

1 1
2 3
2.5 4
3 5
4 6.5
5 7.2

4. A cheese plant produces 250 L/h of whey. Since the market for whey by-product is
depressed, it is used as a carbohydrate source for the growth of a specific culture of
bacteria in the same plant. Whey is mostly lactose at a concentration of 60 g/L and the
concentration would need to be reduced to 1g/L for discharge of the plant. The microbes
have a yield based on substrate of 0.5 g cells/g substrate and a yield based on oxygen
consumed of 1.5 g cells /g oxygen. The treatment system would operate as a chemostat.
If the aerators for the treatment system are capable of an oxygen transfer rate constant
(KLa) of 50 h-1, determine the required chemostat volume. The solubility of oxygen at
saturation is 8 mg/L (assume that [O2*] >> [O2]). The feed is sterile. (Answer: 12315.27
L)