Production of single cell protein from cassava starch in air-lift fermenter by Cephalosporium eichhorniae

Batch and continuous cultivations were used to investigate the single cell protein (SCP) production by Cephalosporium eichhorniae 152 in an air-lift reactor. The Fungus was grown in an 8L air-lift fermenter. The culture medium consisted of cassava as a sole-carbon source, (NH4)(2)SO4 as a nitrogen source and KH2PO4 as a buffering agent. The pH of the medium was adjusted to 3.8 and was controlled during fermentation by using an automatic pH-controller via 0.5 N NaOH. In batch fermentation, 1% of cassava gave the highest yield of 0.4. The optimum condition for continuous fermentation was 1% cassava in Feed medium at a dilution rate of 0.4 h(-1) (396 ml/h) where 0.35 was the final yield. The productivity of continuous culture was found to be higher than that of the batch culture (0.135 g/l.h versus 0.04 . g/lh).