Industrial Biotechnology

Chapter # 4 Insight into Fermentation

FERMENTATION

The use of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi to make products useful to humans is
called fermentation. The process can either be aerobic or anaerobic. Fermented products have
applications as food as well as in general industry.

FERMENTERS

A fermentor is a device which provide controlled environment to the organisms for the
production of desired product. Factors like temperature, pH and other media requirements
are controlled in a fermentor. The fermentor is termed as bioreactor if plant, animal or
bacterial cells are used to make the products.

FEATURES OF A FERMENTER

1. Design should be aseptically designed in order to avoid undesirable microbes which

otherwise would lead to high cost downstream processing. It should also consume less
power.
2. Fermentor should have adequate aeration / agitation system for uniform mixing of
media.
3. Facilitate the growth of a wide range of organisms.
4. There should be low evaporation from fermentor.
5. Operation of bioreactor must involve minimal labor in order to reduce chances of
contamination and make it economical.
6. Construction should be cheap and from best material.
7. There should be temperature and pH control along with proper sterilization system.
8. Inlet and outlet should be properly monitored.

DESIGN OF FERMENTOR

Construction

Depending on the construction type, the bioreactor vessel is made of steel, metal or their
combination. The relation between the height H and diameter D of the bioreactor is within
1.5-2.5. The reactor filling is about 70%. There are high requirements for the reactor vessel
materials to prevent the inhibition of the microorganism growth. The same applies also to any
other part (sensors, pipes, etc.), which are installed inside the bioreactor vessel. The glass
should be 100% borosilicate. All the metal parts should be made from stainless steel. The
inner surface of the stainless steel bioreactor should be polished to about a mirror surface
quality to facilitate the washing and sterilization process. Welding should be carried out in a
fully inert gas medium. The inert gas should be argon, which fully replaces the air.

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