Use of electrospun threads in immobilized cell reactors for continuous ethanol production

Saccharomyces cerevisiae immobilized in electrospun Pluronic F127 dimethacrylate (FDMA) was successfully employed for the production of ethanol in an immobilized cell reactor. Yeast cells were immobilized into fibers formed through the process of electrospinning and cross-linking. The threads had an average diameter of 0.88 μm and were used in continuous-flow immobilized cell reactors. The immobilized cell reactors were able to maintain a high ethanol yield of >90% from day 4 through to the end of the time course at day 14. The reactor was able to achieve a maximum ethanol yield of 94.3%. This study shows that the use of electrospinning is a promising method for continuous ethanol production through immobilized cell-based continuous flow reactors.