Author(s)

Alex Deutmeyer, Raj Raman, Patrick Murphy, Santosh Pandey

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Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Published literature has shown conflicting results regarding the effects of magnetic fields on the fermentation kinetics or cellular growth of various Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains. Here, two sets of experiments were conducted to characterize the role of magnetic fields on cell growth and ethanol production during fermentation. The first experiment was completed for 25 h at a 2% dextrose loading rate under influence of homogeneous and non-homogeneous static magnetic fields on the order of 100 and 200 mT, respectively. The second experiment was completed for 30 h at a 6% dextrose loading rate under the influence of a non-homogeneous static magnetic field on the order of 200 mT. It was found that homogeneous magnetic fields have no significant effect on the yeast cell growth, while non-homogeneous static magnetic fields produced an increase (~ 8% over the control) in peak ethanol concentration with 2% dextrose loading.

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae; Bioethanol; Fermentation; Magnetic Field

Deutmeyer, A. , Raman, R. , Murphy, P. and Pandey, S. (2011) Effect of magnetic field on the fermentation kinetics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 2, 207-213. doi: 10.4236/abb.2011.24031.