Production of Oligosaccharides from Sucrose for Animal Industry

The purpose of the present investigation was to develop a novel method for cell immobilization. Aureobasidium pullulans cells were mixed with an alginate solution, and the mixture was extruded to form small gel beads as hydrated- immobilized cells. The beads were then placed at $-15^{\circ}C$ for 6-24 h to induce freeze-dehydration. The freeze-dehydration resulted in shrinkage of beads due to water removal reducing bead volume by 82% and bead weight by 85%. The dehydrated beads were successfully used for the production of fructo-oligosaccharides in a model reactor system. This study showed that bioreactor performance can be improved up to 2 times by the use of the dehydrated beads.