Analysis of a continuous culture of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 on a standardized glucose medium

Continuous cultures of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 were performed on a standardized fully synthetic culture medium with glucose as carbon source at a dilution rate (D = 0.02 h(-1)) in a 5-L bioreactor. The culture was stabilized during 20 days and demonstrated the ability of Fibrobacter succinogenes to grow in this synthetic medium. CO(2) partial pressure and redox potential probes were used to check the anaerobic state of the culture. The biomass yield was calculated 0.206 g (g glucose)(-1) and the production yield of succinate, the major end-product, was 0.63 mol (mol glucose)(-1). The consistency of the experimental data was checked by proton and mass (C, N) balances. The results were satisfactory (90-110% recovery) leading to derive a stoichiometric equation representative of the growth on glucose. The stoichiometric coefficients were calculated using data reconciliation and linear algebra methods enabling to obtain a complete modeling of all conversion yields possible.