Abstract
In large-scale bioreactors inadequate mixing may impose a continually changing environment to a microbial culture. How the culture will response to such conditions can be studied by means of well designed laboratory-scale experiments. In a two-fermentor-system the influence of continually changing glucose concentrations on the fed-batch baker's yeast production was investigated. Experiments were carried out at different circulation rates and different ratios of the fermentor volumes. The imperfect mixing of the system caused a reduction of the biomass yield and an increase in the ethanol formation. Acetic acid and glyerol were produced as well, but no clear relationship between the circulation rate and the amount of metabolites formed could be observed. The difference in performance of the culture in both fermentors was exposed clearly by the respiration quotient and the (maximum) specific oxygen consumption rate.
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