The influence of oxygen supply on the production of acetaldehyde by Zymomonas mobilis

The influence of oxygen supply rate on the growth and the production of both ethanol and acetaldehyde by the aerotolerant fermentative bacterium Z. mobilis is discussed in this work. The results showed similar values of cell mass yield (0.043 g/g) for the five different levels of initial volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (K La) studied. The maximum specific growth rate (µx,m.) under anaerobic conditions was higher than those found in aerated runs. Anaerobic cultivation resulted in the best ethanol yield (0.38 g/g). For initial K La values of 62, 94, and 118 h-1, ethanol yields were 0.10,...