BIOTECHNOLOGY Biology Dept.

Al-Farabi University College

(Forth Class) Prof. Dr. Abdulwahid Al-Shaibani 2019-2020
Abbrev. Lecture 3 (5 Pages)
Microbial Fermentations
Definition of Fermentation:
“A process of using animal, microbial or plant living cells to perform
enzyme-catalyzed metabolization of organic matters.”
Definition of Fermentation Technology:
“Studying the fermentation processes, techniques and their applications”.
A microbial fermentation process is composed of two parts:
1-Up-Stream Process (USP): Preparing microbial strain, medium, fermentor.
2-Down-Stream Process (DSP): Recovery, purification and characterization of
fermented product.

Reasons for Using Microorganisms in Fermentation:

1- The ratio of surface area to volume is high.
2- Adaptation for different ecological conditions.
3- The ability to achieve several chemical reactions.
4- Very easy to deal with microorganisms.

Parameters (Requirements) of Fermentation:

1-Microbial strain or its enzymes:
Microbial strain is the most important parameter in the fermentation process.
Microbial productivity may be developed by Ecological way or Genetic way.
2-Fermentation medium (Raw substrates):
"Fermentation medium is defined as a liquid or solid medium where the
microbe (s) can grow and multiply".

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 -The common main raw materials (substrates) in the fermentation media are
industrial by-products (e.g. molasses, whey), or agricultural wastes.
-The medium must contain all the nutrition required by the microbial strain to
achieve objectives of the process.
Main factors in selecting raw materials of medium:
i- Cheap and available.
ii- Easy to handle in solid or liquid form.
iii- Easy to sterilize with no denaturation problems.
iv- Give the required product needed. v-
v- Healthy and safe.
3- Controlled favorable environment:
It is important to optimize physical conditions (temperature, aeration etc.)
and chemicals (carbon, nitrogen, mineral sources etc.) compositions of the
fermentation medium, so microbial strain is able to grow in a vessel called
fermentor or bioreactor and produce the metabolites

The Fermentor (Bioreactor): (Figure 3-1).

- The fermentor is known as the heart of fermentation process.
-The aim of the fermentor is "to enable a microbial strain to grow under
controlled conditions and better production of a desired metabolite.
Factors (Points) important in designing and constructing a fermentor:
i- It should be capable to operate aseptically for a number of days.
ii- It should provide adequate aeration and agitation for the microbial strain.
iii- Its power consumption should be as low as possible.
iv- Should be provided with systems of pH and temperature control.
v- It can be used for a range of processes.
vi- Should be easy to be serviced.

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 Figure (3-1): Fermentor (Bioreactor).

Fermentor Instrumentation and Control:

1-Aeration and Agitation;
-The Aeration system (Sparger) should provide the microbial strain in
submerged culture with sufficient O2 for metabolic activity.
-The Agitation system (Agitator or impeller and the baffles) should lead to a
uniform suspension of microbial cells in a homogenous nutrient medium.
-The impeller has two main functions: a) reduction of air bubble size and
b) maintaining uniform environment throughout the vessel contents.
-The baffles: They are metal strips attached radially to the fermentor wall to
improve aeration efficiency.
2-Temperature :
The temperature in a vessel is the most important parameter to monitor and
control any process.

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 3- Foam sensing and control:
The formation of foam may create serious problems in the fermentor if not
controlled. Antifoam agents may add to the fermentor for controlling foaming.
Important antifoaming agents: Castor oil, Fatty acids and esters, Olive oil,
Mono and Diglyceride, Silicones oil (the best one).
4- pH measurement and control.
5- Flow measurement and control of gases and liquids.
6- Carbon dioxide electrodes.
Components of Large-scale (Commercial) Fermentations:
 Fermentation=any large-scale microbial production
 Fermentor=the vessel where fermentation takes place.
 Fermenters=microorganisms (inoculums) perform fermentation or production.

Preparation of microbial culture (inoculum):

It is “The process adopted to produce a volume of microbial culture
sufficient for inoculation in the fermentation medium”
-Characteristics of inoculum for maximal yield of commercial fermentation.
1- Metabolically highly active.
2- Easy to prepare in a large volume.
3- Has suitable morphological form.
4- Free from microbial contamination.
-The size of fermentation medium in the industry can be very large reaches
100,000 liters, so the minimal inoculum size needed is 2000 liters.
-Stages of preparation of a large size inoculum: Figure (3-2)
Stage 1: Stock culture activation: from a slant-agar or lyophilized (freeze-dried).
Stage 2: Inoculation of stock culture into a shake-flask and incubated.
Stage 3: Transferring to a larger flask (seed flask) and incubated.
Stage 4: Transferring to the intermediate fermentor (pilot plant).
Then the contents of intermediate fermentor are dumped into the
production fermentor

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Figure (3-2): Microbial culture (inoculum) building stages and
production of yeast.