Fermentation Automation, Solid Substrate Processes

Abstract

Although many solid substrate fermentation (SSF) processes operate commercially nowadays, they are insignificantly small compared with the numerous industrial facilities that operate worldwide with submerged fermentation (SmF) technology. At first sight, this is difficult to understand, since the superiority of SSF for microorganism growth and production is unquestioned. However, it is now clear that bioreactor engineering and automatic control are the main limitations to develop commercial‐scale SSF processes. This article focuses on the latter, reviewing instrumentation and control strategies for different kinds of SSF bioreactors that have been applied, or have the potential to be applied without further research, on a commercial scale. Additionally, as a case study, we describe here, the design, implementation, and performance of a control system for a pilot scale (250 kg), forcefully aerated with an intermittent mixing SSF bioreactor.