Continuous ethanol production using immobilized yeast cells entrapped in loofa-reinforced alginate carriers

A culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae M30 entrapped in loofa-reinforced alginate was used for continuous ethanol fermentation in a packed-bed reactor with initial sugar concentrations of 200-248 g/L. Maximum ethanol productivity of 11.5 g/(L·h) was obtained at an ethanol concentration of 57.4 g/L, an initial sugar concentration of 220 g/L and a dilution rate (D) of 0.2 h-1. However, a maximum ethanol concentration of 82.1 g/L (productivity of 9.0 g/(L·h)) was obtained at a D of 0.11 h-1. Ethanol productivity in the continuous culture was 6-8-fold higher than that in the batch culture. Due to...