Microbial Engineering

Microbial Engineering is a collection of invited lectures presented at the First International Symposium on Advances in Microbial Engineering held in Marianske Lazne, Czechoslovakia, from August 28 to September 1, 1972. Contributors explore significant developments in the field of microbial engineering and cover topics ranging from the role of microbial films in fermentation and fundamentals of fermenter design to aeration and agitation in antibiotic fermentations; kinetics of hydrolase production by microorganisms; and kinetics of product synthesis in continuous alcoholic fermentation. This book is comprised of nine chapters and begins by introducing the reader to the role of microbial films in fermentation, with emphasis on the mechanism of microbial adhesion as well as the important characteristics of the surfaces and the microorganisms. The next chapter examines the effects of environmental (macro) conditions and those on the cell level in relation to heat and mass transfer in microbial systems. The discussion then turns to the self-regulating mechanisms in bacterial cells; methods used to disintegrate cells to release unstable substances; and the influence of environmental factors on the kinetics of biosynthetic processes. A method for controlling aeration and agitation in the course of antibiotic fermentation is also described. The final chapter presents the results of experiments that investigated the continuous production of ethyl alcohol using starchy materials converted to hexoses by externally formed enzymes. This text will be of interest to microbiologists and biochemists as well as researchers in pure and applied chemistry.