Suivi de l'ATP et des proteines du biofilm dans un bioreacteur a lit fluidise fermentant un permeat de lactoserum reconstitue (French text, Propionibacterium acidipropionici)

Cheese production leads to massive residue production. Whey permeate is a lactose and minerals rich solution suitable for fermentation. Continuous flow anaerobic reactors are known to be effective for propionic acid production by Propionibacterium acidipropionici, however, the control parameters for COD reduction and volatile fatty acids (VFA) are not well mastered. This study sheds new light on the relation between total proteins and ATP to predict a fluidized bed reactor's activity. It is shown that ATP concentration best explains the lactose concentration reduction shown in glucose-equivalents and VFA production than total biofilm protein content. A novel staining and photographic method is used to view the biofilm.