Study of gaseous substrate fermentations: carbon monoxide conversion to acetate. 1. Batch culture.

Biological processes may be used to convert gas phase substrates, such as H(2)S, CH(4), CO, H(2), and CO(2), to useful products. Utilization of these substrates is often a mass transfer limited process, first requiring absorption across the gas-liquid interface and diffusion through the culture medium to the cell surface, prior to reaction. This article presents a method for determining fermentation parameters of a gaseous substrate in convenient batch vessels using a modified Monod model. The procedure is illustrated with experimental data for the conversion of carbon monoxide to acetate by the strict anaerobe Peptostreptococcus productus.