Luis Alberto Lopez

Prof. Luis Alberto Lopez


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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26 April 2026 in Processes
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Journal Article
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MPMaría Guadalup Pérez-Loredo
María Guadalup Pérez-Loredo
LLLuis Alberto Lopez
Luis Alberto Lopez
CGCarlos Eduardo Gómez-Sánchez
Carlos Eduardo Gómez-Sánchez
Claudia Guerrero-BarajasClaudia Guerrero-Barajas
Claudia Guerrero-Barajas
JAJuan Silvestre Aranda-Barradas
Juan Silvestre Aranda-Barradas
AOAlberto Ordaz
Alberto Ordaz
High-value metabolites, such as antibiotics and enzymes, are primarily produced using filamentous fungi. However, their morphological complexity increases broth viscosity during biomass growth, hindering industrial scale-up by impairing both power input and mass transfer. The interaction between biomass growth, rheology, power input, and oxygen transfer is first addressed here by evaluating mycelial rheology and determining the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa) (dynamic method) and oxygen uptake rate (respirometry) across different operating conditions. These confirmed that the mycelial broth’s pseudoplastic behavior significantly influences volumetric power input and kLa correlations. However, specific power input analysis revealed that operating at higher stirring rates (800 rpm) at higher cell-density cultures is 28.17% more energetically efficient than at low speeds (500 rpm). Furthermore, the oxygen supply-to-demand ratio, calculated via Excel model-fitting, allowed for the estimation of “metabolic power input” which represents the required energy to fit oxygen demand. Results also reveal that at 3.67 ± 0.34 g L−1 of biomass effectively channel up to 51% of total energy toward aerobic metabolism, compared to only 17–30% for 0.73 ± 0.01 g L−1 of biomass. These findings show that volumetric power inputs around 4 kW m−3 improve oxygen transfer efficiency, even at relatively high biomass concentrations.