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Growth of Rhizobium leguminosarum on peat in rotating bioreactors
Author(s) -
Jauhari Ritika,
Gray Murray,
Holloway Greg
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450770517
Subject(s) - peat , bioreactor , microbial inoculant , rhizobium leguminosarum , drum , sucrose , botany , biology , chemistry , inoculation , horticulture , food science , bacteria , ecology , rhizobiaceae , symbiosis , mechanical engineering , genetics , engineering
The legume inoculant Rhizobium leguminosarum was grown on peat in roller bottles and a rotating drum bioreactor. Growth conditions were first determined using experiments in roller bottles. The best growth rate and cell count were obtained with peat containing 40% moisture (wet basis) and a volume fraction of moist peat of 0.3 in the roller bottle bioreactors. A cell count of 1.3 to 1.9 × 10 9 CFU/g was achieved in 4 d or less, from an initial inoculum of 10 6 CFU/g. In a rotating drum bioreactor, the growth of R.leguminosarum on peat with sucrose as the main carbon source was completed after 4 d. The majority of growth was in the first 2 d, based on carbon dioxide evolution. These results showed that growth of R. leguminosarum was more rapid in the rotating drum than in bags of peat, due to enhanced oxygen transfer.