A two-phase kinetic model for fungal growth in solid-state cultivation

Abstract

A new two-phase kinetic model including exponential and logistic models was applied to simulate the growth rate of fungi at various temperatures. The model parameters, expressed as a function of temperature, were determined from the oxygen consumption rate of Aspergillus niger during cultivation on wheat bran. The model can describe the whole growth curve including the lag phase and the cessation of growth in the latter stages of the cultivation with an adequate approximation. Furthermore, the model describes the growth rate of Aspergillus oryzae on wheat properly. Comparisons between the current, logistic and previous two-phase kinetic models indicate that the new model can predict growth rate of fungi more accurately.