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Dependence of fungal characteristics on seed morphology and shear stress in bioreactors

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Abstract

The fungal morphology during submerged cultivations has a profound influence on the overall performance of bioreactors. In this research, glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger has been taken as a model to improve more insights. The morphology engineering could be conducted effectively by changing the seed morphology, as well as specific power input. During the fed-batch cultivations, pellet formation under milder shear stress field helped to reduce the broth viscosity, thus relieving oxygen limitation and promoting the enzyme production. Furthermore, we found that the relation between the shear stress field, which was characterized by energy dissipation rate/circulation function (EDCF), and enzyme activity was consistent with quadratic parabola, which threw light on the process optimization and scale-up for industrial enzyme production.

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Abbreviations

C*:

Saturated oxygen concentration in broth (mmol kg−1)

CER:

Carbon dioxide evolution rate (mmol kg−1 h−1)

C L :

Oxygen concentration in broth (mmol kg−1)

C ε1 , C ε1 , σ k , σ ε :

Constants in Eqs. (14) and (15)

D :

Diameter of impellers (m)

DCW:

Dry cell weight (g L−1)

DO:

Dissolved oxygen tension (−)

EA:

Enzyme activity (AGI mL−1)

EDCF:

Energy dissipation rate/circulation function (W kg−1 s−1)

F D,lg :

Interfacial momentum exchange term (kg m s−1)

g :

Gravity acceleration (m s−2)

k L a :

Volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient (h−1)

k c :

Constants in equation

K :

Consistency index (Pa sn)

N :

Agitation speed (s−1)

n :

Flow index (−)

OTR:

Gas–liquid mass transfer rate of oxygen (mmol kg−1 h−1)

OUR:

Oxygen uptake rate (mmol kg−1 h−1)

p :

Pressure (Pa)

P G :

Gassed power input (W)

P kb, P εb :

Represent the effects of buoyancy (Pa)

P kis :

Turbulence produced by viscous force (Pa)

P O :

Power number (−)

q O2 :

Specific oxygen uptake rate (mmol g −1DCW  h−1)

t c :

Circulation time (s)

u k :

Averaged velocity of phase k (m s−1)

μ :

Specific growth rate (h−1)

γ :

Shear rate (s−1)

ε :

Energy dissipation rate (m2 s−3)

λ K :

Kolmogorov microscale of length (m)

υ L :

Kinematic viscosity of the fluid (m2 s−1)

μ app :

Apparent viscosity (N m−2 s)

μ eff,k :

Effective viscosity of phase k (N m−2 s)

μ tl :

Liquid phase turbulence viscosity (N m−2 s)

ρ :

Density of broth (kg m−3)

ρ k :

Density of phase k (kg m−3)

τ :

Shear stress (N m−2)

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by Royal DSM (Delft, the Netherlands) and partially supported by NWO-MoST Joint Program (2013DFG32630), National Basic Research Program (973 Program 2013CB733600), National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program 2012AA021201) and National Key Technology R&D Program (2012BAI44G01). We would like to thank Sybe Hartmans, Qing Yuan Yin and Jie Zhao for their kind concern on this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 329#, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Hongzhong Lu, Chao Li, Wenjun Tang, Zejian Wang, Jianye Xia, Siliang Zhang, Yingping Zhuang & Ju Chu

  2. DSM Biotechnology Center, P.O. Box 1, 2600MA, Delft, The Netherlands

    Henk Noorman

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  1. Hongzhong Lu
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Correspondence to Jianye Xia or Ju Chu.

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Lu, H., Li, C., Tang, W. et al. Dependence of fungal characteristics on seed morphology and shear stress in bioreactors. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 38, 917–928 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-014-1337-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-014-1337-8

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