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Question #46580
The Question
In an industrial bioprocessing facility, an aerobic microbial inoculum is cultured in a bioreactor with a restricted geometry that drastically reduces the surface-to-volume ratio and lacks a sparging mechanism. Based on the principles of mass transfer and cellular respiration, what will be the primary metabolic consequence on the culture, and how will it affect the yield?
Options
- A.
The culture shifts to facultative anaerobiosis, drastically reducing biomass yield due to thermodynamically less efficient substrate oxidation.
- B.
The culture upregulates oxidative phosphorylation to compensate for low dissolved oxygen, thereby maintaining secondary productivity.
- C.
The oxygen transfer rate (OTR) increases spontaneously to match the biological oxygen demand (BOD), keeping the biomass yield constant.
- D.
The culture shifts to obligate aerobiosis, increasing the production of secondary metabolites as a physiological stress response.
Check Your Answer
Correct Answer
Step-by-Step Solution
Explanation
How the Examiner Thinks
Comparative_Analysis
Sharpen your ability to evaluate multiple scenarios and distinguish between competing potential answers.
Concepts Behind This Question
Activated Sludge Inoculum|Bioreactor Geometry|Secondary Productivity
Why This Question Is Tricky
Common Mistakes
Conceptual Pivot: Integrating biotechnology engineering (bioreactor geometry and oxygen mass transfer) with microbial metabolism (aerobic vs. anaerobic ATP yield).
Students often fail to connect the physical design of a bioreactor (surface-to-volume ratio) directly to the biochemical shift from oxidative phosphorylation to fermentation, which dictates the ultimate biomass yield.
Quick Facts About This Question
Question Information
| Subject | Biology |
| Chapter | Microbes in Human Welfare - Class 12 |
| Concept | Activated Sludge Inoculum |
| Difficulty | 8 |
| Cognitive Load | 5 |
| Target Solve Time | 120 sec |
| Access | Free |