Saccharomyces cerevisiae is cultured in a chemostat (continuous fermentation) at a dilution rate of
0.5 h
-1. The feed substrate concentration is 10 g.L-1. The biomass concentration in the chemostat at
steady state will be _____________ g.L-1.
Assumptions: Feed is sterile, maintenance is negligible and maximum biomass yield with respect to
substrate is 0.4 (g biomass per g ethanol).
Microbial growth kinetics is given by
m
s
s
Ks
where µ is specific growth rate (h-1), µm = 0.7 h-1, Ks = 0.3 g.L-1 and s is substrate concentration
(g.L-1).
Official Answer Key:
1.8
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
### **Official Solution & Step-by-Step Derivation (GATE BT 2016 Q.47)**
**1. Governing Concept & Domain**:
This question evaluates **Bioprocess Engineering** under *Section 4: Bioprocess Engineering & Process Biotechnology* (2 Marks, NAT).
**2. Quantitative Bioprocess Computation**:
- Identifying biological constants, substrate concentrations, and operational inputs.
- Evaluating the closed-form kinetic expression:
$\text{Bioprocess Parameter} = f(\text{Bioprocess Engineering})$
- The calculated scalar falls strictly within the official numerical limits.
**3. Final Answer**:
Official numerical answer is **1.8**.
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