CONTINUOUS FERMENTATION APPARATUS AND PROCESS

摘要

A continuous fermentation apparatus characterised in that it comprises: (A) an immobilized microbe reactor (16) having an inlet (14) and an outlet (18); (B) a nutrient supply means (22); (C) a first means (12) for supplying feed to the said inlet; (D) a second means (20) connecting the said outlet to the said nutrient supply means; (E) a third means (24) connecting the said nutrient supply means to the said inlet and having a flow regulation means (26) suitable for recycling through the said reactor a portion of the effluent therefrom at a recycle ratio of at least 2: 1; and (F) a fourth means (28) for withdrawing from the said continuous fermentation apparatus that portion of effluent from the said reactor which is not recycled through the said reactor, which fourth means is located at any point in the said continous fermentation apparatus between and including the said outlet and the said flow regulation means of the said third means is disclosed. A continuous fermentation process characterised in that is comprises: (A) continuously passing a feed through an immobilized microbe reactor; (B) continuously adding at least one productivity-limiting nutrient to at least a portion of the effluent from the said reactor; (C) continuously recycling at least a portion of the nutrient-enriched effluent from (B) through the said reactor at a recycle ratio of at least 2 : 1, with the proviso that the volume ratio of effluent from the said reactor to recycled effluent is greater than unity; and (D) continuously withdrawing for disposal or further processing that portion of effluent from the said reactor which is not recycled is also described. The present invention constituted an improvement over the prior art, inter alia, in that there results an increased supply of a fermentation productivity-limiting nutrient, for example a sparingly soluble nutrient, such as oxygen.