Effect of agitator configuration on bacterial cellulose productivity in aerated and agitated culture

To improve the bacterial cellulose (BC) productivity in aerated and agitated culture, the agitator configuration was improved. Agitators were selected by measuring mixing delay time and K L a of a 1% BC suspension and cultivating Acetobacter xylinum subsp. sucrofermentans BPR3001A. We concluded that (i) the impellers such as Maxblend and gate with turbine were suitable for BC fermentation because they mixed culture broth well and had large K L a, (ii) the production rate and yield of BC were dependent on K L a and the oxygen consumption rate, and (iii) the static gassing-out method to measure K L a was useful for characterization of the agitation conditions and the agitator configuration.