Waste dairy whey is used to grow Kluyveromyces fragilis yeast in a continuous culture system operated at 30oC and 1 atm pressure. Medium containing 4% w/w lactose (C12H22O11) and 0.15% w/w NH3 flows into a specially designed aerated bioreactor at a rate of 200 kg h-1. The reactor is compartmentalized to facilitate gravity settling of the yeast; a suspension containing concentrated cells is drawn off continuously from the bottom of the reactor at a rate of 40 kg h -1, while an aqueous waste stream containing 0.5 kg cells per 100 kg leaves from the top. All of the lactose provided is utilized by the culture. The biomass yield from lactose is known from preliminary experiments to be 0.25 g g-1. The composition of the K. fragilis biomass is determined by elemental analysis to be CH1.63O0.54N0.16 + 7.5% ash.

a. What is the RQ for this culture?

b. It is proposed to supply the reactor with air at a maximum flow rate of 305 liters min-1. Will this provide sufficient oxygen? If not, what minimum level of oxygen enrichment of the air is needed if the total gas flow rate is 305 liters min-1?

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a The respiratory quotient RQ is defined as the ratio of the moles of carbon dioxide produced to the ... View the full answer