Abstract
Alkane solubilities were measured experimentally for high-density biomass. The resulting Henry's law constants for propane were found to decrease significantly for both dense yeast suspensions and an actual propane-degrading biofilm consortium. At the biomass densities of a typical biofilm, propane solubility was about an order of magnitude greater than that in pure water. For example, a dense biofilm had a propane Henry's law constant of 0.09 ± 0.04 atm m3 mol-1 compared to 0.6 ± 0.1 atm m3 mol- 1 measured in pure water. The results were modeled with mixing rules and compared with octanol-water mixtures. Hydrogels (agar) and salts decreased the alkane solubility. By considering a theoretical solubility of propane in dry biomass, estimates were made of intrinsic Henry's law constants for propane in pure yeast and biomass, which were 13 ± 2 and 5 ± 2 atm kg biomass mol-1 for yeast and biofilm consortium, respectively. (C) 2000 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 279-284 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Biotechnology and Bioengineering |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 5 2000 |
Keywords
- Alkane
- Biofiltration
- Biomass
- Henry's law
- Propane
- Solubility