Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 5

Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/thread-2336.

html

(http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/index.php)

Search

Login (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/member.php?action=login) Register (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/member.php?action=register)

(http://www.biotechnologyforums.com

/index.php)
Forum (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/index.php) Portal (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/portal.php)

Members (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/memberlist.php) Today's Posts (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/search.php?action=getdaily)

Calendar (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/calendar.php) Help (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/misc.php?action=help)

(http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/index.php)

(http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/index.php) Biotechnology Forums (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/index.php) > Biotechnology Discussion (forum-1.html) > Main
Biotechnology Discussion Forum (forum-2-page-4.html) > Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview (thread-2336.html) >

Contact:
sales@biotechnologyforums.com to
feature here

Thread tools Thread Rating:


0
Vote(s)
-
0
Average
1 (./ratethread.php?tid=2336&rating=1&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)
2 (./ratethread.php?tid=2336&rating=2&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)
3 (./ratethread.php?tid=2336&rating=3&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)
4 (./ratethread.php?tid=2336&rating=4&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)
5 (./ratethread.php?tid=2336&rating=5&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)

Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview

Author's Statistic:
(usercp2.php?action=addsubscription&tid=2336&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)
Posts: 26
Malithi Weerakkody (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-6254.html)Threads: 25
Likes Received: 1 in 1 posts
(user-6254.html) Likes Given: 0
Joined: May 2013
#1 (thread-2336-post-3262.html#pid3262)
07-04-2013, 08:09 PM (This post was last modified: 07-05-2013, 12:36 AM by
Member
Administrator (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-1.html).)
Depending on the circumstance, the term fermentation can have three meanings. In a
physiological sense, fermentation refers to a process that produces energy by breaking down of energy-rich compounds under anaerobic conditions. This is the
basis of food fermentation, which is commonly used in the food industry in order to produce diverse food products and also as a food preservation method. In a
biotechnological context though, this term is used in a much broader sense. There, fermentation means a process in which microorganisms that are cultured on

1 of 5 8/2/17, 12:27 AM
Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/thread-2336.html

a large-scale under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, convert a substrate into a product which is useful to man.

This article attempts to provide an overview of the industrial fermentation process, mainly focusing on various types of fermentations, the basic steps in a typical
fermentation process and the major industrial applications of fermentation.

Basic Steps of Industrial Fermentation

Any industrial fermentation operation can be broken down into three main stages, viz, upstream processing, the fermentation process and downstream
processing.

Upstream processing includes formulation of the fermentation medium, sterilisation of air, fermentation medium and the fermenter, inoculum preparation and
inoculation of the medium.

The fermentation medium should contain an energy source, a carbon source, a nitrogen source and micronutrients required for the growth of the microorganism
along with water and oxygen, if necessary.

A medium which is used for a large scale fermentation, in order to ensure the sustainability of the operation, should have the following characteristics;
1. It should be cheap and easily available
2. It should maximise the growth of the microorganism, productivity and the rate of formation of the desired product
3. It should minimise the formation of undesired products

Usually, waste products from other industrial processes, such as molasses, lignocellulosic wastes, cheese whey and corn steep liquor, after modifying with the
incorporation of additional nutrients, are used as the substrate for many industrial fermentations.

Sterilisation is essential for preventing the contamination with any undesired microorganisms. Air is sterilised by membrane filtration while the medium is usually
heat sterilised. Any nutrient component which is heat labile is filter-sterilised and later added to the sterilised medium. The fermenter may be sterilised together with
the medium or separately.

Inoculum build up is the preparation of the seed culture in amounts sufficient to be used in the large fermenter vessel. This involves growing the microorganisms
obtained from the pure stock culture in several consecutive fermenters. This process cuts down the time required for the growth of microorganisms in the
fermenter, thereby increasing the rate of productivity. Then the seed culture obtained through this process is used to inoculate the fermentation medium.

[Image: graph01.gif]
Inoculum preparation procedure

The fermentation process involves the propagation of the microorganism and production of the desired product. The fermentation process can be categorised
depending on various parameters.

It can be either aerobic fermentation, carried out in the presence of oxygen or anaerobic fermentation, carried out in the absence of oxygen. Many industrial
fermentation are carried out under aerobic conditions where a few processes such as ethanol production by yeast require strictly anaerobic environments.

The fermentation process can also be divided into three basic systems, namely batch, continuous or fed-batch, depending on the feeding strategy of the culture
and the medium into the fermenter. Each of these processes has their own advantages and disadvantages. In a batch operation, the medium and the culture are
initially fed into the vessel and it is then closed. After that, no components are added apart from oxygen (in an aerobic process) and acid or alkali for the pH adjustment.
The fermentation is allowed to run for a predetermined period of time and the product is harvested at the end. In a continuous process, fresh medium is continuously
added and the products, along with the culture is removed at the same rate, thus maintaining constant concentrations of nutrients and cells are maintained throughout
the process. A fed-batch system is a combination of these two systems where additional nutrients are added to the fermenter as the fermentation is in progress. This
extends the time of operation but the products are harvested at the end of the production cycle as in a batch fermenter.

S HARES

2 of 5 8/2/17, 12:27 AM
Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/thread-2336.html

The process can also be categorised as solid state fermentation (SSF) or submerged fermentation (SmF), depending on the amount of free water in the medium.
In a solid state fermentation, the medium contains no free flowing water. The organisms are grown in a solid substrate which is moistened. This is used in certain
industrial process such as koji fermentation from soybeans, production of amylase and protease by Aspergillus oryzae on roasted soybeans and wheat,
bioremediation, detoxification of agro-industrial wastes, etc. Submerged fermentation is in which microorganisms grow submerged in a liquid medium where free water
is abundant. This is the method of choice for many industrial operations over SSF although SSF is also rapidly gaining interest in the present.

A comparison of SSF and SmF

Downstream Processing includes the recovery of the products in a pure state and the effluent treatment. Product recovery is carried out through a series of
operations including cell separation by settling, centrifugation or filtration; product recovery by disruption of cells (if the product is produced intracellularly); extraction
and purification of the product. Finally, the effluents are treated by chemical, physical or biological methods.

Fermentation Products

Commercially important products of fermentation can be described in five major groups as follows.

1. Biomass (Bakers yeast, SCP, Starter cultures, animal feed, etc.)


2. Primary metabolites (amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, polysaccharides, ethanol, etc.) and secondary metabolites (antibiotics, etc.)
3. Bioconvertion or biotransformation products (steroid biotransformation, L-sorbitol etc.)
4. Enzymes (amylase, lipase, cellulase, etc.)
5. Recombinant products (some vaccines, hormones such as isulin and growth hormones etc.)

Sources

1. SFood
HARES
Biotechnology (2nd edition) edited by Kalidas Shetty, Gopinadhan Paliyath, Anthony Pometto and Robert E. Levin

3 of 5 8/2/17, 12:27 AM
Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/thread-2336.html

2. Introduction to Biochemical Engineering By Dubasi Govardhana Rao


Website (http://malithiweerakkody.com) Find (search.php?action=finduser&uid=6254) Share (https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.biotechnologyforums.com%2Fthread-2336.html&title=Industrial%20Fermentation%3A%20Upstream%20and%20Downstream%20Process%20Overview)
Like Post (thankyoulike.php?action=add&pid=3262&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699) Reply (newreply.php?tid=2336&replyto=3262)

Enter Keywords Search Thread

(thread-2336-nextoldest.html) (thread-2336-nextnewest.html)

Possibly Related Threads...


Thread
Author
/
Last Post

Liposuction Process - Avoiding the side effects (thread-1497.html)


shalinibalan (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-4184.html)
Replies: 3
Views: 14,368
07-16-2015, 04:08 PM
Last Post (thread-1497-lastpost.html): vaserdubai (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-18067.html)
About yeast extract for fermentation (thread-6808.html)
yinqiang1984 (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-16594.html)
Replies: 2
Views: 3,510
03-09-2015, 01:45 AM
Last Post (thread-6808-lastpost.html): libertygura (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-16769.html)
Crabtree Effect : A Significant Fermentation Control (thread-2251.html)
SunilNagpal (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-6188.html)
Replies: 0
Views: 14,595
05-24-2013, 07:55 AM
Last Post (thread-2251-lastpost.html): SunilNagpal (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-6188.html)
Dietary Benefits and the Industrial exposure hazards of the Essential metals (thread-1884.html)
priyasaravanan_1406 (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-5099.html)
Replies: 1
Views: 5,394
11-28-2012, 07:02 PM
Last Post (thread-1884-lastpost.html): rorystyris (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-5334.html)
Steps Involved in the Development of Industrial Microbiology (thread-1732.html)
Kamat2010 (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-5101.html)
Replies: 1
Views: 9,798
10-17-2012, 09:42 PM
Last Post (thread-1732-lastpost.html): ExpertScie (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/user-5032.html)

View a Printable Version (printthread.php?tid=2336)


Subscribe to this thread (usercp2.php?action=addsubscription&tid=2336&my_post_key=abd2ab058789c93014239e6748d32699)

Enter Keywords Search Thread

Users browsing this thread:


1 Guest(s)

Copyright 2010 - 2017 Biotechnology Forums

(https://www.facebook.com/biotechstudents/)
(https://twitter.com/biotechforums)
(https://plus.google.com/u/0/116129585288258062452)
(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtV-sR-SYw5-csgDJKKKndw?sub_confirmation=1)
(https://www.pinterest.com/biotechforum/)

BiotechnologyForums:
2010-2017 Go to Main Page (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com)
Powered by: MyBB (https://www.mybb.com)
S HARES

4 of 5 8/2/17, 12:27 AM
Industrial Fermentation: Upstream and Downstream Process Overview https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/thread-2336.html

Quick Links
View New Posts (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/search.php?action=getnew)
Forum Stats (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/stats.php)
Lite (Archive) Mode (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/archive/index.php?thread-2336.html)
Forum Rules (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/showthread.php?tid=4)
Support (http://www.biotechnologyforums.com/showthread.php?tid=305)

About us
Serving the global community of Biotechnology since 2010 BiotechnologyForums has created a unique space of its own.It's the preferred platform for Job updates in Biotechnology,
Career guidance, Corporate News, Products, Innovations, Healthcare etc Hope you have a good time here on BiotechnologyForums.

About Us
Privacy
TOS

Payments We Accept

S HARES

5 of 5 8/2/17, 12:27 AM

You might also like