Thesis (MTech (Chemical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009The main purpose of this study was to quantify the growth and oxygen mass transfer kinetic
parameters of the filamentous bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor, immobilised on the
external surface of a ceramic membrane in a continuously operated pressurised Membrane
Gradostat Bioreactor (MGR).
One of the most important and critical parameters required when studying biofilms, are the
growth kinetics, as they can be utilised to model both the mass transfer and biological
reactions occurring within the biofilm. Single fibre MGR's (SFMGR) were operated using a
pneumatic system to supply humidified pressurised air to the extra capillary space (ECS) and
pressurised growth medium to the lumen of the ceramic membrane. Two growth media; a
complex growth medium, ISP2, and a defined growth medium, were tested and supplied to
the lumen of the ceramic membrane in the dead-end mod