The kinetics of yeast growth on pure hydrocarbons

TLDR: In this paper, the authors investigated the kinetics of C. tropicalis growth with pure n-hexadecane as a dispersed phase substrate and found two distinct growth phases: in the first phase, exponential growth was independent of stirrer speed.

Abstract: The kinetics of C. tropicalis growth were investigated with pure n-hexadecane as dispersed phase substrate. Two distinct growth phases were found: In the first phase, exponential growth was independent of stirrer speed. The onset of the second phase, one of linear growth, was determined by stirrer speed. By the use of two different fermenter types, it was shown that the drop size of the dispersed phase was not primarily responsible for the observed kinetics. It was considered that the formation of biological flocs determined the observed growth pattern. This was substantiated by the results of continuous cultures in the different fermenter types, with various substrate concentrations.