Xanthan production in bubble column and air-lift reactors

A bubble column (0.05 m(3)) and an air-lift fermentor (1.2 m(3)) were used for the production of the exocellular microbial polysaccharide xanthan with Xanthomonas campestris in a synthetic medium. Upon oxygen depletion in the liquid, the xanthan production rate dropped sharply and then became a linear function of the oxygen transfer rate. The volumetric mass transfer coefficients for oxygen conformed to the correlation of Suh et al. Using this correlation in combination with the model for xanthan batch fermentation suggested by Peters et al., the xanthan fermentations in the bubble column were well described. The model also correctly predicted the time course of the molecular weight of the polysaccharide even when a complex medium was used. In the air-lift fermentor, however, the xanthan production rate and the xanthan yields with respect to oxygen and glucose were lower than expected at the overall oxygen transfer rate. The poor performance of the air lift was traced back to the lack of any oxygen supply in the downcorner.