The growth dynamics of a methanol‐utilizing bacterium L3 in a batch bioreactor

Abstract
The growth dynamics of a methanol utilizing bacterium, L3, in batch bioreactors were experimentally investigated. Formaldehyde, a key intermediate of methanol oxidation, is indicated to have a significant role in the complex batch growth behavior of L3. The intricate batch growth dynamics of many microorganisms can be elegantly characterized by examining the specific rates of exchange of nutrients and products between the cells and the cellular environment. Following such an analysis, the batch growth of L3 on methanol was characterized by the presence of unbalanced and balanced growth phases. The nature and significance of nutrient and product concentration profiles or semilog‐arithmic profiles of nutrient and product exchange rates during balanced and unbalanced growth phases are also outlined.