Intrinsic kinetic parameters of Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 strains and prediction of optimum carbon monoxide level for ideal bioreactor operation

•First report on intrinsic kinetic parameters of archaea.•Optimum CL values for bioprocess development using NA1 strains are presented.•Conditions required to maintain ideal bioreactor operation are predicted.•General guidelines for designing large-scale bioreactors are provided.

This study determines and compares the intrinsic kinetic parameters (Ks and Ki) of selected Thermococcus onnurineus NA1 strains (wild-type (WT), and mutants MC01, MC02, and WTC156T) using the substrate inhibition model. Ks and Ki values were used to find the optimum dissolved CO (CL) conditions inside the reactor. The results showed that in terms of the maximum specific CO consumption rates (qCOmax) of WT, MC01, MC02, and WTC156T the optimum activities can be achieved by maintaining the CL levels at 0.56 mM, 0.52 mM, 0.58 mM, and 0.75 mM, respectively. The qCOmax value of WTC156T at 0.75 mM was found to be 1.5-fold higher than for the WT strain, confirming its superiority. Kinetic modeling was then used to predict the conditions required to maintain the optimum CL levels and high cell concentrations in the reactor, based on the kinetic parameters of the WTC156T strain.