Production of Candida utilis biomass on molasses in different culture types

Three different types of aerobic fermentations were performed for the mass production of C. utilis as aquafeeds. From the best fermentation result of each culture type, the biomass yield and productivity were calculated to be 0.67 and 0.24 for batch, 0.51 and 1.95 for fed-batch with sigmoidal feeding strategy, and 0.36 g g(-1) and 2.15 g(-1) l(-1) h(-1) for continuous cultures, respectively. The cultivation of C. utilis using chemicals for industrial use resulted in considerable reduction of production cost. The fed-batch fermentation was found to be the best culture type for mass production of C. utilis. The total production cost of C. utilis cultivated in the fed-batch fermentation was estimated to be US$ 2.76 per kg of dry cells. The total production cost is favorably comparable with the sale price of the commercial yeast product. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.