Single-Cell Protein Production From Methane and Methanol in Continuous Culture*

The literature on single-cell protein production is rapidly increasing and in any review it is possible to cover all the published papers in a critical manner. Apart from waste-water treatment, the large scale production of single-cell protein represents the first major use of continuous culture techniques on an industrial scale. The use of continuous culture makes process control much easier, and in a steady state it enables measurements to be made with great accuracy over a long period of time. One of the initial steps in the development of a process for the production of single-cell protein from methane or methanol is the isolation of organisms capable of utilizing these substrates as their sole source of carbon and energy. When the growth substrate is a pure source of methane or methanol the need to use mixed cultures will largely depend on the culture supernatant organic carbon content at high productivities.