| Abstract: | Oxygen transfer is an important aspect of aerobic metabolism. In this work, microbial growth on glucose (fast metabolism) and phenol (slow metabolism) have been studied using Pseudomonas putida in shake flasks and a mixed bioreactor considering both substrate and oxygen depletion. Under typical operating conditions, the highest mass transfer coefficient (KLa) for the aerated well‐mixed bioreactor was found to be 50.8 h?1, while the maximum non‐aerated shake flask KLa was 21.1 h?1. The presence of media and/or dead cells did not have significant effect on measured values of KLa. A new equation for prediction of KLa in shake flasks with an absolute average deviation of 11.1% is introduced, and a combined model for oxygen mass transfer and microbial growth is shown to fit experimental data during growth on glucose and phenol in both shake flasks and the mixed bioreactor with an absolute average deviation of 19.3%. |
