Stoichiometric equations are used to represent growth of microorganisms provided a ' molecular formula' for the cells is available. The molecular formula for biomass is obtained by measuring the amounts of C, N, H, O and other elements in cells. For a particular bacterial strain, the molecular formula was determined to be C4.4H7.30 1.2N0.86 . These bacteria are grown under aerobic conditions with hexadecane (C16H34) as substrate. The reaction equation describing growth is: You have been put in charge of a small fermenter for growing the bacteria and aim to produce 2.5 kg of cells for inoculation of a pilot-scale reactor. What minimum amount of hexadecane substrate must be contained in your culture medium? -triyambak.org