Continuous Culture: Chemostat

This lecture covers the principles and applications of continuous culture using a chemostat. It explains the design, operation, and advantages of chemostats in maintaining steady-state conditions for microbial growth. The lecture also delves into topics such as dilution rates, substrate and biomass concentration in steady-state, productivity comparisons with batch cultures, and the theory behind two-stage chemostats. Additionally, it discusses the determination of yield coefficients, maintenance energy, and the enhanced production in chemostats with cell recycle. The major applications of continuous culture reactors, deviations from ideal behavior, and the comparison between batch and continuous cultures are also explored.