Evaluation of productive biofilms for continuous lactic acid production

In white biotechnology research, the putative superiority of productive biofilms to conventional biotransformation processes based on planktonic cultures has been increasingly discussed in recent years. In the present study, we chose lactic acid production as a model application to evaluate biofilm potential. A pure culture of Lactobacillus bacteria was grown in a tubular biofilm reactor. The biofilm system was cultivated monoseptically in a continuous mode for more than 3 weeks. The higher cell densities that could be obtained in the continuous biofilm system compared with the planktonic culture led to a significantly increased space‐time yield. The productivity reached 80% of the maximum value 10 days after start‐up and no subsequent decline was observed, confirming the suitability of the system for long‐term fermentation. The analysis of biofilm performance revealed that productivity increases with the flow velocity. This is explained by the reduced retention time of the liquid phase in the reactor, and, thus, a minor pH drop caused by the released lactic acid. At low flow velocities, the pH drops to a value where growth and production are significantly inhibited. The biofilm was visualized by magnetic resonance imaging to analyze biofilm thickness. To deepen the understanding of the biofilm system, we used a simple model for cell growth and lactic acid production. The potential of productive biofilms was investigated using lactic acid production as a model application. The biofilm showed an increased productivity as compared to planktonic cells. However, when a certain biofilm thickness is exceeded, concentration gradients, especially pH gradients, lead to growth and production inhibition close to the substratum. To overcome these mass transfer limitations, biofilm thickness has to be controlled.