In white biotechnology research, the putative superiority of productive biofilms to conventional biotransformation processes based on planktonic cultures has been increasingly discussed in recent years. In the present study, we chose lactic acid production as a model application to evaluate biofilm potential. A pure culture of Lactobacillus bacteria was grown in a tubular biofilm reactor. The biofilm system was cultivated monoseptically in a continuous mode for more than 3 weeks. The higher cell densities that could be obtained in the continuous biofilm system compared with the planktonic culture led to a significantly increased space-time yield. The productivity reached 80% of the maximum value 10 days after start-up and no subsequent decline was observed, confirming the suitability of the system for long-term fermentation. The analysis of biofilm performance revealed that productivity increases with the flow velocity. This is explained by the reduced retention time of the liquid phase in the reactor, and, thus, a minor pH drop caused by the released lactic acid. At low flow velocities, the pH drops to a value where growth and production are significantly inhibited. The biofilm was visualized by magnetic resonance imaging to analyze biofilm thickness. To deepen the understanding of the biofilm system, we used a simple model for cell growth and lactic acid production. K E Y W O R D Slactic acid production, long-term fermentation, magnetic resonance imaging, productive biofilm, simulation, tubular biofilm reactor

Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth on the occasion of his 60th birthday Double emulsions of the water-in-oil-in-water type are promising encapsulation and delivery systems containing at least one hydrophilic and one lipophilic surfactant. Currently, there are still very few implementations on the market, as these systems are subject to extreme stability problems. This study focuses on stability problems induced by the transport of hydrophilic surfactant molecules through the lipophilic phase to the encapsulated inner water droplets. In particular, a model system was developed to quantify surfactant transport and resulting effects on the coalescence of encapsulated water droplets. Changes in stability of the inner water droplets are demonstrated for different surfactants and compared to the stability of the inner water-in-oil emulsions and corresponding double emulsions.