[Composition of a nutrient medium for the continuous cultivation of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans]

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was found to require the following biogenous elements for constructing its biomass: phosphorus, 14 +/- 2; magnesium, 2 +/- 0.5; potassium, 5 +/- 1; nitrogen, 100 +/- 10 (milligrams per gram of dry biomass). It was shown that the concentrations of biogenous elements in the growth medium, which did not limit the biosynthesis, did not exceed 5 divided by 10 mg per litre for all of the studied elements. The medium 9K that is commonly used for growing Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has been found to differ significantly from the calculated one with the balanced ratio of biogenous elements.