Continuous Cultivation of Microorganisms

Book excerpt: Continuous Cultivation of Microorganisms deals with research studies on the continuous processes in cultivation and their applications in industrial production. Divided into 40 chapters, the book is composed of contributions of authors who have conducted extensive studies on continuous cultivation. The discussions start with situations and trends in the advancement of continuous cultivation, multi-stage continuous culture, the theory of multi-stage continuous cultures, and a stochastic model of continuous cultivation of microorganisms in several vessels. This discussion is followed by the presentation of the theory of continuous fermentation; the use of continuous culture method for analyzing cell functions; and a comparative study of cell mass production in a single and multistage cultivation. The book goes further with discussions on soil microbiology and the processes and environments involved in the culture of bacteria. The text also presents the fermentation processes of beer, lactic acid, alcohol, and liquor. The discussions are supported by methods, experiments, and numerical representations. The book also discusses electronic programs or automatic controls involved in fermentation processes. The selection is a vital source of data for those who are interested in conducting research on continuous cultivation.