Determination of critical point of pO2 level in the production of lactic acid by Lactobacillus rhamnosus

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the critical point of pO2 level in the production of lactic acid by Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The fermentation process was successfully carried out in laboratory scale fermenter/bioreactor using different pO2 level (the main parameter that significantly affects the growth of L. rhamnosus and lactic acid production) together with two other parameters; the agitation rate and pH. From the result, it was observed that the best production of lactic acid with the concentration of 16.85 g L-1 or 1.68% production yield has been obtained at the operating parameters of 5% pO2 level, agitation speed of 100 rpm and sample pH 6. The critical point of pO2 was found to be between 5 and 10%. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.