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Growth and substrate consumption of Nitrobacter agilis cells immobilized in carrageenan: Part 1. Dynamic modeling
Author(s) -
de Gooijer C. D.,
Wijffels R. H.,
Tramper J.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260380303
Subject(s) - nitrobacter , substrate (aquarium) , mass transfer , carrageenan , mass transfer coefficient , diffusion , chemical engineering , chemistry , chromatography , materials science , biological system , thermodynamics , biology , nitrification , biochemistry , physics , ecology , nitrogen , organic chemistry , engineering
The modeling of the growth of Nitrobacter agilis cell immobilized in κ‐carrageenan is presented. A detailed description is given of the modeling of internal diffusion and growth of cells in the support matrix in addition to external mass transfer resistance. The model predicts the substrate and biomass profiles in the support as well as the macroscopic oxygen consumption rate of the immobilized biocatalyst in time. The model is tested by experiments with continuously operated airlift loop reactors containing cells immobilized in κ‐carrageenan. The model describes experimental data very well. It is clearly shown that external mass transfer may not be neglected. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of the parameters at their values during the experiments revealed that apart from the radius of the spheres and the substrate bulk concentration, the external mass transfer resistance coefficient is the most sensitive parameter for our case.