A microbial culture with oxygen-sensitive product distribution as a potential tool for characterizing bioreactor oxygen transport

The dissolved oxygen (DO) level has been shown to have a profound effect on the product distribution of a Bacillus subtilis culture, with acetoin being excreted with DO above 100 parts per billion (ppb) and butanediol below 100 ppb. The product concentration ratio changed rapidly in the 80–90 ppb range. Switching from one oxygen level to another caused one already accumulated product to be converted to the other in a reversible manner. Rates of change of 0.5–1 g/L h enabled detection within 10 min. Detection sensitivity is enhanced because the ratio of two concentrations can be measured. Remarkably sensitive to mixing rates, the culture responded to changes in stirring speed during experiments in which the dissolved oxygen was controlled at a constant level with a novel control system. Thus, the culture is capable of detecting dead zones in relatively well‐mixed reactors and oxygen gradients in column and tubular reactors. High‐viscosity effects can also be investigated since the culture grows well in xanthan gum solutions. Preliminary kinetic model development indicates that a useful model for simulating reactor mixing and transport effects can be developed to aid in the planning of experiments.