A FLOW MICROCALORIMETRY INVESTIGATION OF THE TOXICITY EFFECTS INDUCED BY ALIPHATIC-ALCOHOLS IN A HETEROGENEOUS AEROBIC CULTURE

An extensive investigation of the influence of aliphatic alcohols on the metabolic activity of a heterogeneous culture has been carried out using flow microcalorimetry as a monitoring technique. The response of the culture to the addition of alcohols (n-C//3 to n-C//8, t-C//4) has been examined for the microorganisms under endogenous conditions and substrate saturation conditions, and IC//5//0 values were determined for each state. For the n-alcohols, the inhibitory behavior was further examined through systematic variations of substrate and alcohol concentrations; the results yield inhibition patterns which show specific behavior both as function of alcohol concentration and alcohol chain length. Generally, the toxicity results obtained with the heterogeneous culture follow rather closely those found in homogeneous cultures. Refs.