Methodology for Bioprocess Analysis: Mass Balances, Yields and Stoichiometries

The stoichiometry of a chemical reaction provides basic information about the nature and the quantities of chemical species consumed and produced. It also intrinsically contains all the information on transformation yields. Such information is useful and necessary for the design of any biotechnological process. In the case of microbiological reactions that support microbial growth, this information deals with the carbon and energy sources consumed, the terminal electron acceptor utilized, other metabolic products formed, as well as the quantity of the biomass produced.