Submerged monoxenic culture of the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae CABA01, in a mechanically agitated bioreactor: Evolution of the hydrodynamic and mass transfer conditions

This study is the first to describe the evolution of both hydrodynamic and oxygen transfer conditions during the submerged culture of the entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae CABA01 (an indigenous strain isolated within the State of Hidalgo, Mexico), and its symbiotic bacterium, Xenorhabdus nematophila, using an internal-loop mechanically agitated bioreactor of 4.5 L of liquid volume. Concentrations up to 217,306 viable nematodes per mL, with 94% in infective juvenile (IJ) stage (i.e., 204,444 IJ/mL), were achieved in 16 days of bioprocess. The Reynolds number (Re) was used as an index of the actual hydrodynamic conditions, and it varied within the interval 5,150 < Re (dimensionless) < 9,440, involving apparent culture broth viscosity changes from 3 to 5.4 mPa s during the processing. The aeration efficiency was expressed on the basis of the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient, k L a, which varied within the range 0.026 to 0.170 s?1.