Fundamental Studies on the Cultivation of Hydrocarbon-utilizing Microorganisms

Part I. Mass Balance for Bacterial Growth on n-Pentane

抄録

A stoichiometric analysis was carried out on the consumption of substrates and oxygen during the bacterial growth on gaseous hydrocarbons, based on the increase of cell mass and the pressure drop in a closed culture system which were measured by using a specially designed shaker flask. A bacterium capable of growing in the expense of n-pentane as the sole source of carbon and energy was employed, and an average yield factor as high as 0.84 was obtained throughout the experiment. As a result, the following stoichiometric equation was proposed for the formation of bacterial cells from n-pentane.
C₅H₁₂+4.26O₂+0.38NO₃=0.61C_4.17H_7.50O_1.55N_0.62+2.50CO₂+3.76H₂O