Serratia marcescens bacteria are used for the production of threonine. The maximum specific oxygen uptake rate of S. marcescens in batch culture is 4 mmol O2 g-1 h-1. It is planned to operate the fermenter to achieve a maximum cell density of 50 g l-1. At the fermentation temperature and pressure, the solubility of oxygen in the culture liquid is 8 × 10^-3 kg m^-3. The concentration of oxygen in the culture liquid is 0.5 × 10^-3 kg m^-3. At a particular stirrer speed, kLa is 0.17 s^-1. Required:
Under these conditions, will the rate of cell metabolism be limited by mass transfer?