Transport phenomena in the production of pectolytic enzymes from aspergillus foetidus under submerged fermentation conditions

Abstract

The production process of the pectolytic enzymes endo-polymethylgalacturonase (endo-PMG) and pectin esterase (PE) from a fungal strain of Aspergillus foetidus was sutidied in this research. The pectolytic enzymes were produced in a New Brunswick BioFlo 110 bioreactor located in the Laboratory of Biotechnology at the Food Engineering Department of La Salle University. The fermentation assays were carried out in 3 L batches of growth medium with citric pectin as the substrate and permanent addition of oxygen at 3 L/min. Under these fermentation conditions, the following results were found in the developed phenomena: film transfer coefficient between the bioreactor wall and the growth medium: 1.710 W/K.m2, mass transfer coefficient: 4,24x10-4 m/s, volumetric mass transfer coefficient: 6,07x10-3 s-1, and an aeration-dissipated potency of 0,089 W; for yields of 0,030 kg of enzymes/3 L growth medium and 0,83 kg of enzymes/1 kg of biomass. These results are close to those found by other researchers