Evaluation of the application effect of surface immobilization technology on fuel ethanol production at industrial scale.

This study evaluates the viability of surface immobilization method for ethanol production utilizing a 3400 m3 bioreactor. The reactor's agitation mechanism, featuring an integrated suspended carrier, was optimized by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, succeeded by a quantitative assessment of the fluid field distribution. A second intermittent fermentation experiment was performed in the optimized reactor, utilizing high-concentration maize hydrolysate as the substrate. The findings indicate that the immobilized-cell reactor provides superior space efficiency and remarkable fermentation stability. In comparison to the current continuous fermentation outcomes of free-cell systems, the average alcohol concentration and productivity increased by 0.63 % (v/v) and 14.29 %, respectively, and maize consumption per ton of ethanol decreased by 4.62 %. This study represents the inaugural notable economic advantage derived from the implementation of ICF without seed in a 3,400 m3 fermentation tank, showcasing considerable potential for industrial utilization.