A. Nishiwaki et Ij. Dunn, ANALYSIS OF A 2-STAGE FERMENTER WITH RECYCLE FOR CONTINUOUS ETHANOL-PRODUCTION, Chemical engineering communications, 168, 1998, pp. 207-227
The performance of a recycle two-stage fermenter with cell separators
after each stage is analyzed numerically for the continuous production
of ethanol. rn this system, the bleed withdrawn from the first stage
is introduced to the second tank in order to reuse the cells in the bl
eed. Kinetic expressions and parametric values are taken from the lite
rature. The effects of operating parameters on the concentrations in t
he stages are examined. Also investigated are the critical dilution ra
te for washout, the ethanol productivity and the substrate conversion.
In addition, the influences of the saturation constant and the equili
brium partition coefficient of ethanol are examined. With respect to t
he overall productivity and conversion, it is found that the present t
wo-stage system is more efficient than either a recycle chemostat or a
recycle two-stage fermenter with a single separator after the final s
tage.