The Kinetics of Mould growth in Aerobic Tower Fermenters

Abstract

This study deals with the growth of fungi on low grade agricultural carbohydrate sources in tower fermenters. - The tower or tubular fermenter was chosen as the vessel in which to grow the fungi because of simplicity, ease of construction, low capital and working costs. The work carried out attempted to present the relevant running data required to design and build a tower fermenter for the growth of fungi. Due to the nature of the fermenter it was found that filamentous fungi were able to grow in the colony form. The mode of formation and the kinetics of colony growth were studied together with their relevancies to this particular project. Medium optimisation was Go investigated in relation to the production of large amounts of protein rich biomass. The nutritional aspects of the fungal end product was studied, in particular the concentrations of amino acids in the mycelium. Conclusions were therefore reached as to ‘the suitability of the system and the fungus for the production of fungal biomass.