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High-resolution computation predicts that low dissolved CO concentrations and CO gradients promote ethanol production at industrial-scale gas fermentation

Puiman, L. (author), Almeida Benalcazar, E.F. (author), Picioreanu, Cristian (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Haringa, C. (author)

Gradients in dissolved gas concentrations are expected to affect the performance of large reactors for anaerobic gas (CO, H2, CO2) fermentation. To study how these gradients, and the dissolved gas concentration level itself, influence the productivity of the desired product ethanol and the product spectrum of C. autoethanogenum, we coupled a CFD...

journal article 2024

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Metabolic-fluid dynamics model construction and scale-down design for an industrial penicillin chrysogenum fermentation with combined dissolved oxygen and glucose concentration dynamics

Wei, P. (author), Haringa, C. (author), Portela, L. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author)

This study focuses on the metabolic impacts of simultaneous glucose and oxygen concentration gradients on penicillin production in an industrial-scale fermentor, using the computational fluid dynamics-cellular reaction dynamics approach. Inclusion of oxygen-coupling considerably impacts the glucose uptake and resulting penicillin productivity...

journal article 2023

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Acetic acid, growth rate, and mass transfer govern shifts in CO metabolism of Clostridium autoethanogenum

Perdigão Elisiário, M. (author), Van Hecke, Wouter (author), De Wever, Heleen (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Straathof, Adrie J.J. (author)

Abstract: Syngas fermentation is a leading microbial process for the conversion of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen to valuable biochemicals. Clostridium autoethanogenum stands as a model organism for this process, showcasing its ability to convert syngas into ethanol industrially with simultaneous fixation of carbon and...

journal article 2023

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Mimicked Mixing-Induced Heterogeneities of Industrial Bioreactors Stimulate Long-Lasting Adaption Programs in Ethanol-Producing Yeasts

Minden, Steven (author), Aniolek, Maria (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Takors, Ralf (author)

Commercial-scale bioreactors create an unnatural environment for microbes from an evolutionary point of view. Mixing insufficiencies expose individual cells to fluctuating nutrient concentrations on a second-to-minute scale while transcriptional and translational capacities limit the microbial adaptation time from minutes to hours. This...

journal article 2023

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Downscaling Industrial-Scale Syngas Fermentation to Simulate Frequent and Irregular Dissolved Gas Concentration Shocks

Puiman, L. (author), Almeida Benalcazar, E.F. (author), Picioreanu, C. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Haringa, C. (author)

In large-scale syngas fermentation, strong gradients in dissolved gas (CO, H₂) concentrations are very likely to occur due to locally varying mass transfer and convection rates. Using Euler-Lagrangian CFD simulations, we analyzed these gradients in an industrial-scale external-loop gas-lift reactor (EL-GLR) for a wide range of...

journal article 2023

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Stochastic parcel tracking in an Euler–Lagrange compartment model for fast simulation of fermentation processes

Haringa, C. (author), Tang, W. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author)

The compartment model (CM) is a well-known approach for computationally affordable, spatially resolved hydrodynamic modeling of unit operations. Recent implementations use flow profiles based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, and several authors included microbial kinetics to simulate gradients in bioreactors. However, these...

journal article 2022

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Performing in spite of starvation: How Saccharomyces cerevisiae maintains robust growth when facing famine zones in industrial bioreactors

Minden, Steven (author), Aniolek, Maria (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Takors, Ralf (author)

In fed-batch operated industrial bioreactors, glucose-limited feeding is commonly applied for optimal control of cell growth and product formation. Still, microbial cells such as yeasts and bacteria are frequently exposed to glucose starvation conditions in poorly mixed zones or far away from the feedstock inlet point. Despite its commonness,...

journal article 2022

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Alleviating mass transfer limitations in industrial external-loop syngas-to-ethanol fermentation

Puiman, L. (author), Abrahamson, Britt (author), van der Lans, R.G.J.M. (author), Haringa, C. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Picioreanu, C. (author)

Mass transfer limitations in syngas fermentation processes are mostly attributed to poor solubility of CO and H₂ in water. Despite these assumed limitations, a syngas fermentation process has recently been commercialized. Using large-sale external-loop gas-lift reactors (EL-GLR), CO-rich off-gases are converted into ethanol, with...

journal article 2022

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Towards closed carbon loop fermentations: Cofeeding of Yarrowia lipolytica with glucose and formic acid

van Winden, Wouter A. (author), Mans, R. (author), Breestraat, Stefaan (author), Verlinden, Rob A.J. (author), Mielgo Gomez, A. (author), de Hulster, A.F. (author), de Bruijn, J.A. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author)

A novel fermentation process was developed in which renewable electricity is indirectly used as an energy source in fermentation, synergistically decreasing both the consumption of sugar as a first generation carbon source and emission of the greenhouse gas CO₂. As an illustration, a glucose-based process is co-fed with formic acid...

journal article 2022

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Monitoring Intracellular Metabolite Dynamics in Saccharomyces cerevisiae during Industrially Relevant Famine Stimuli

Minden, Steven (author), Aniolek, Maria (author), Sarkizi Shams Hajian, Christopher (author), Teleki, Attila (author), Zerrer, Tobias (author), Delvigne, Frank (author), van Gulik, W.M. (author), Deshmukh, Amit (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Takors, Ralf (author)

Carbon limitation is a common feeding strategy in bioprocesses to enable an efficient microbiological conversion of a substrate to a product. However, industrial settings inherently promote mixing insufficiencies, creating zones of famine conditions. Cells frequently traveling through such regions repeatedly experience substrate shortages and...

journal article 2022

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Decarbonizing ethanol production via gas fermentation: Impact of the CO/H₂/CO₂ mix source on greenhouse gas emissions and production costs

Almeida Benalcazar, E.F. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Maciel Filho, Rubens (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

This study explores key success factors for ethanol production via fermentation of gas streams, by assessing the effects of eight process variables driving the fermentation performance on the production costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Three fermentation feedstocks are assessed: off-gases from the steel industry, lignocellulosic biomass...

journal article 2022

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A systematic approach for the processing of experimental data from anaerobic syngas fermentations

Almeida Benalcazar, E.F. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Filho, Rubens Maciel (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

This study describes a methodological framework designed for the systematic processing of experimental syngas fermentation data for its use by metabolic models at pseudo-steady state and at transient state. The developed approach allows the use of not only own experimental data but also from experiments reported in literature which employ a...

book chapter 2022

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Membrane bioreactors for syngas permeation and fermentation

Perdigão Elisiário, M. (author), De Wever, Heleen (author), Van Hecke, Wouter (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Straathof, Adrie J.J. (author)

Syngas fermentation to biofuels and chemicals is an emerging technology in the biobased economy. Mass transfer is usually limiting the syngas fermentation rate, due to the low aqueous solubilities of the gaseous substrates. Membrane bioreactors, as efficient gas–liquid contactors, are a promising configuration for overcoming this gas-to...

review 2021

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Multi-Objective Sustainability Optimization of Biomass Residues to Ethanol via Gasification and Syngas Fermentation: Trade-Offs between Profitability, Energy Efficiency, and Carbon Emissions

Magalhaes de Medeiros, E. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Filho, Rubens Maciel (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

This work presents a strategy for optimizing the production process of ethanol via integrated gasification and syngas fermentation, a conversion platform of growing interest for its contribution to carbon recycling. The objective functions (minimum ethanol selling price (MESP), energy efficiency, and carbon footprint) were evaluated for the...

journal article 2021

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Predicting by-product gradients of baker’s yeast production at industrial scale: A practical simulation approach

Hajian, Christopher Sarkizi Shams (author), Haringa, C. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Takors, Ralf (author)

Scaling up bioprocesses is one of the most crucial steps in the commercialization of bioproducts. While it is known that concentration and shear rate gradients occur at larger scales, it is often too risky, if feasible at all, to conduct validation experiments at such scales. Using computational fluid dynamics equipped with mechanistic...

journal article 2020

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Production of ethanol fuel via syngas fermentation: Optimization of economic performance and energy efficiency

Magalhaes de Medeiros, E. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Maciel Filho, Rubens (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

In this work, a model was developed to predict the performance of a bubble column reactor for syngas fermentation and the subsequent recovery of anhydrous ethanol. The model was embedded in an optimization framework which employs surrogate models (artificial neural networks) and multi-objective genetic algorithm to optimize different process...

journal article 2020

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Modeling ethanol production through gas fermentation: A biothermodynamics and mass transfer-based hybrid model for microbial growth in a large-scale bubble column bioreactor

Almeida Benalcazar, E.F. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Maciel Filho, Rubens (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Background: Ethanol production through fermentation of gas mixtures containing CO, CO₂ and H₂ has just started operating at commercial scale. However, quantitative schemes for understanding and predicting productivities, yields, mass transfer rates, gas flow profiles and detailed energy requirements have been lacking in...

journal article 2020

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Grand Research Challenges for Sustainable Industrial Biotechnology

Straathof, Adrie J.J. (author), Wahl, S.A. (author), Benjamin, Kirsten R. (author), Takors, Ralf (author), Wierckx, Nick (author), Noorman, H.J. (author)

Future manufacturing will focus on new, improved products as well as on new and enhanced production methods. Recent biotechnological and scientific advances, such as CRISPR/Cas and various omic technologies, pave the way to exciting novel biotechnological research, development, and commercialization of new sustainable products. Rigorous...

review 2019

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Dynamic modeling of syngas fermentation in a continuous stirred-tank reactor: Multi-response parameter estimation and process optimization

Magalhaes de Medeiros, E. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author), Filho, Rubens Maciel (author)

Syngas fermentation is one of the bets for the future sustainable biobased economies due to its potential as an intermediate step in the conversion of waste carbon to ethanol fuel and other chemicals. Integrated with gasification and suitable downstream processing, it may constitute an efficient and competitive route for the valorization of...

journal article 2019

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Comparative performance of different scale-down simulators of substrate gradients in Penicillium chrysogenum cultures: the need of a biological systems response analysis

Wang, G. (author), Zhao, Junfei (author), Haringa, C. (author), Tang, W. (author), Xia, Jianye (author), Chu, Ju (author), Zhuang, Yingping (author), Zhang, Siliang (author), Deshmukh, A.T. (author), van Gulik, W.M. (author), Heijnen, J.J. (author), Noorman, H.J. (author)

In a 54 m³ large-scale penicillin fermentor, the cells experience substrate gradient cycles at the timescales of global mixing time about 20–40 s. Here, we used an intermittent feeding regime (IFR) and a two-compartment reactor (TCR) to mimic these substrate gradients at laboratory-scale continuous cultures. The IFR was applied to...

journal article 2018