Description
Fungi producing high xylanase levels have
attracted considerable attention because of their potential
industrial applications. Batch cultivations of Aspergillus
terricola fungus were evaluated in stirred tank and airlift
bioreactors, by using wheat bran particles suspended in
the cultivation medium as substrate for xylanase and
b-xylosidase production. In the stirred tank bioreactor,
in physical conditions of 30°C, 300 rpm, and aeration of
1 vvm (1 l/min), with direct inoculation of fungal spores,
7,475 U/l xylanase was obtained after 36 h of operation,
remaining constant after 24 h. In the absence of air injection
in the stirred tank reactor, limited xylanase production
was observed (final concentration 740 U/l). When the fermentation
process was realized in the airlift bioreactor,
xylanase production was higher than that observed in the
stirred tank bioreactor, being 9,265 U/l at 0.07 vvm
(0.4 l/min) and 12,845 U/l at 0.17 vvm (1 l/min) aeration
rate.
; Polizeli, Maria de Lourdes T. M. 
