Contribution of endo- and exocellular glucose oxidase to gluconic acid production at increased dissolved oxygen concentrations

For gluconic acid fermentation with Aspergillus niger oxygen-enriched air was used to increase dissolved oxygen concentration during the production phase from c. 30% to 100% saturation related to air at 1 bar. At the highest dissolved oxygen concentration the activity of glucose oxidase increased more than three-fold. At the same time, the gluconic acid production rate increased by a factor of two. During the fermentations, glucose oxidase was present endocellularly as well as exocellularly; the presence of this enzyme in the broth was due to a controlled secretion. It was found that the two fractions of the enzyme showed different activities in their contribution to overall acid production. Due to a limitation of oxygen diffusion into the mycelial pellets, activity of endocellular enzyme was reduced by 50–80%. However, since the major part of the enzyme was present in the pellets the action of endocellular glucose oxidase is not negligible. This latter factor must be taken into consideration when optimizing bioreactor design.     

Optimization of lactic acid production from whey by L casei NRRL B‐441 immobilized in chitosan stabilized Ca‐alginate beads

The production of lactic acid from whey by Lactobacillus casei NRRL B‐441 immobilized in chitosan‐stabilized Ca‐alginate beads was investigated. Higher lactic acid production and lower cell leakage were observed with alginate–chitosan beads compared with Ca‐alginate beads. The highest lactic acid concentration (131.2 g dm^?3) was obtained with cells entrapped in 1.3–1.7 mm alginate–chitosan beads prepared from 2% (w/v) Na‐alginate. The gel beads produced lactic acid for five consecutive batch fermentations without marked activity loss and deformation. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of three fermentation parameters (initial sugar, yeast extract and calcium carbonate concentrations) on the concentration of lactic acid. Results of the statistical analysis showed that the fit of the model was good in all cases. Initial sugar, yeast extract and calcium carbonate concentrations had a strong linear effect on lactic acid production. The maximum lactic acid concentration of 136.3 g dm^?3 was obtained at the optimum concentrations of process variables (initial sugar 147.35 g dm^?3, yeast extract 28.81 g dm^?3, CaCO₃ 97.55 g dm^?3). These values were obtained by fitting of the experimental data to the model equation. The response surface methodology was found to be useful in optimizing and determining the interactions among process variables in lactic acid production using alginate–chitosan‐immobilized cells. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry