Estimation of productivities in repeated fed batch cephalosporn fermentation

Abstract

The theory of fed batch culture was tested on the cephalosporin C fermentation. In repeated fed batch culture a constant fraction of the culture volume is removed at fixed intervals. Since the productivity (output rate/unit volume) and specific rate of product formation may vary throughout the fed batch cycle, an “average productivity” and “average specific rate of product formation” which describe the overall behaviour of the system over several cycles are introduced. The test shows that the quasi-steady state of cephalosporin production predicted by fed batch theory can be maintained during at least 3.6 culture volume changes. The fed batch method of culture increased the productivity of the culture about 1.3 times with respect to that of simple batch culture whilst the cephalosporin C concentration was about the same in each type of culture.