A new spin filter for high density culture and ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A new spin filter consisting of 50 μm (nominal pore size) depth filters rolled on a stainless steel grid was developed, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model suspension cell to evaluate the spin filter performance. In a 1.8-1 fermentor with a rotation speed of 300 rpm and perfusion rate of 4 ml/min, a cell concentration of 49 g/l and ethanol concentration of 45 g/l from 100 g/l glucose could be obtained in a perfusion culture. The major mechanisms for cell separation used by the large-pore spin filter appeared to be centrifugal force and pivotal movement of the cells in the spin filter.