Mitsuru Wada

Continuous production of ethanol using immobilized growing yeast cells

SummaryImmobilized growing yeast cells were prepared in kappa-carra-geenan gel. Gel beads containing a small number of cells were incubated in a complete medium. The cells grew very well in the gel and the number of living cells per ml of gel increased to over 10 times that of free cells per ml of culture medium. After growing in the gel, the cells formed a dense layer of cells near the gel surface and produced large amounts of ethanol. The conditions for continuous production of ethanol using immobilized growing yeast cells were investigated. The supply of appropriate nutrients for growth was essential for the continuous production. The living cells in the gel were maintained at the high level of 109 per ml of gel and continuous production of ethanol using the complete medium containing 10% glucose was carried out with a retention time of 1 h. In this operation, a stable steady state was maintained for longer than 3 months. The ethanol concentration was 50 mg/ml and the conversion of glucose utilized to ethanol produced was almost 100% of the theoretical yield.

A new immobilization of microbial cells

SummaryA new immobilization of microbial cells based on the growth of cells in gel is presented. The cells grew very well in carrageenan gel when fed nutrients required for growth. The growing cells immobilized in gel formed a dense layer of cells near the gel surface. Because the cells were near the gel surface, they efficiently catalyzed single enzyme reactions. In addition, the immobilized growing cell system was applied to the complicated multienzyme reactions since large numbers of cells in the gel could constantly be maintained for long periods.

Continuous production of ethanol in high concentration using immobilized growing yeast cells

SummaryApplication of an immobilized growing yeast cell system to continuous production of ethanol in high concentration (10%) was investigated using Saccharomyces cerevisiae IFO 2363. When a medium containing 25% glucose was fed, the growth of yeast cells in gel was inhibited. The inhibitory effect was found to be reduced by a stepwise increase in concentration of glucose in the feed medium. The stepwise operation resulted in constant growth of cells in the gel even in the medium containing 25% glucose. By this stepwise feeding system, continuous production of ethanol of 114 mg/ml was maintained at a retention time of 2.6 h for over 2 months and a conversion rate of glucose to ethanol of over 95% of theoretical, was achieved.