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4 . 1 2 Production of 1 , 3 - propanediol A process for microbial synthesis of 1 , 3 - propanediol is being developed
Production of propanediol
A process for microbial synthesis of propanediol is being developed for the manufacture of 'green' polyester fabric from renewable resources. Under anaerobic conditions, a selected strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae converts glycerol to propanediol and acetic acid with minimal formation of other fermentation products such as butyric acid, ethanol, and gas. The fermentation and cell growth equation can be written as:
where represents the biomass.
A continuous fermenter is set up for propanediol production at and atmospheric pressure. Anaerobic conditions are maintained by sparging the broth with nitrogen gas at a flow rate of litres The feed rate of medium into the fermenter is ; the medium contains ammonia and glycerol. The yield of propanediol is strongly affected by glycerol concentration, which must be kept above a certain level to suppress the formation of undesired byproducts. Accordingly, the fermentation process is designed so that the product stream contains an unreacted glycerol concentration of
a What is the volumetric flow rate and composition of the offgas?
b What minimum concentration of is needed in the feed stream?
c If the concentration from b is used, what is the concentration of propanediol in the product stream?
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