Summary
Four models taken from the literature, which permit calculation of heats of combustion from elemental analysis, are evaluated from a theoretical point of view. In order to obtain experimental values of heats of combustion with a higher degree of accuracy than those being available in the literature, an improved sample preparation technique based on lyophilisation of microbial biomass has been developed. Heats of combustion were determined by direct measurement in a calorimeter and compared to calculated values from each of the literature models. Giese's formula turned out to predict heats of combustion the most accurately. The enthalpy content of the bacteria investigated (23.13±0.52 kJ/g) differs from that of yeasts (21.21±0.47 kJ/g) in a significant manner.
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Abbreviations
- C:
-
heat capacity of the calorimeter (kJ/°K)
- fash :
-
content of ash (g/g)
- fC :
-
content of carbon as measured by the elemental analyser (g/g)
- fCT :
-
content of carbon corrected for ash and residual water (g/g)
- fH :
-
content of hydrogen corrected for residual water (g/g)
- fHapp :
-
content of hydrogen as measured by the elemental analyser (g/g)
- fH 2 O :
-
content of residual water (g/g)
- fHT :
-
content of hydrogen corrected for ash and residual water (g/g)
- fN :
-
content of nitrogen as measured by the elemental analyser (g/g)
- fNT :
-
content of nitrogen corrected for ash and residual water (g/g)
- fO :
-
calculated content of oxygen (g/g)
- fOT :
-
content of oxygen corrected for ash and residual water (g/g)
- m:
-
mass of cells corrected for ash and residual water (g)
- mB :
-
mass of benzoic acid (g)
- n :
-
number of separate samples tested (-)
- Mx′:
-
molar mass (g/C-mol)
- Q:
-
heat evolved per number of available electron equivalents transferred to one gram atom of oxygen during combustion (kJ/mol)
- QNO :
-
heat of formation of HNO3 (kJ)
- QS :
-
heat of formation of H2SO4 (kJ)
- Qw :
-
heat of combustion of the iron wire (kJ)
- Xt :
-
i=C, H, O, N, stoichiometric index (-)
- γ:
-
degree of reductance (-)
- γ* :
-
general degree of reductance (-)
- ΔH O :
-
heat of combustion of cells (kJ/g)
- ΔH O′:
-
molar heat of combustion (kJ/mol, kJ/C-mol)
- ΔH OB :
-
heat of combustion of benzoic acid (kJ/g)
- Δt:
-
difference of temperature before and after combustion (°C)
- C:
-
carbon
- H:
-
hydrogen
- N:
-
nitrogen
- O:
-
oxygen
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Cordier, JL., Butsch, B.M., Birou, B. et al. The relationship between elemental composition and heat of combustion of microbial biomass. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 25, 305–312 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00252538
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00252538