This work describes an instrumentation and data acquisition system designed for a deep bed reactor used to cultivate Trichoderma longibrachiatum on wheat bran. The system allowed on–line measurements of substrate temperature, oxygen concentration within the reactor headspace, relative humidity and temperature of the inlet air, and inlet airflow rates while maintaining aseptic conditions and without disturbing the cultivation process. An error analysis for the instrumentation and data acquisition equipment was completed and provided insight into the reliability of the sensor readings. The collected data provided quantitative information about the reactor system dynamics which can be used to evaluate and apply environmental control schemes, gain knowledge on microbial growth characteristics, and develop and validate mathematical models describing heat and mass transfer interactions.
The authors thank Alltech Biotechnology Center (Nicholasville, Ky.) for providing funds for the instrumentation used in the project. This research effort was also supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship and a Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship.
The investigation reported (01–05–182) is part of a project of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and is published with the approval of the director.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/richard-gates/91/
Published in Applied Engineering in Agriculture, v. 19, issue 2, p. 237-245.
© 2003 American Society of Agricultural Engineers
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