Challenges in industrial fermentation technology research

• Published in: Biotechnology journal 2014-06, Vol.9 (6), p.727-738
• Main Authors: Formenti, Luca Riccardo, Nørregaard, Anders, Bolic, Andrijana, Hernandez, Daniela Quintanilla, Hagemann, Timo, Heins, Anna-Lena, Larsson, Hilde, Mears, Lisa, Mauricio-Iglesias, Miguel, Krühne, Ulrich, Gernaey, Krist V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Bioreactors; Cell Culture Techniques - instrumentation; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer Simulation; Fermentation; Fermentation process development; Fungal morphology; Hydrodynamics; Industrial biotechnology; Industrial Microbiology - instrumentation; Industrial Microbiology - methods; Modeling; Scale-down bioreactors
• ISSN: 1860-6768; 1860-7314
• DOI: 10.1002/biot.201300236

Industrial fermentation processes are increasingly popular, and are considered an important technological asset for reducing our dependence on chemicals and products produced from fossil fuels. However, despite their increasing popularity, fermentation processes have not yet reached the same maturity as traditional chemical processes, particularly when it comes to using engineering tools such as mathematical models and optimization techniques. This perspective starts with a brief overview of these engineering tools. However, the main focus is on a description of some of the most important engineering challenges: scaling up and scaling down fermentation processes, the influence of morphology on broth rheology and mass transfer, and establishing novel sensors to measure and control insightful process parameters. The greatest emphasis is on the challenges posed by filamentous fungi, because of their wide applications as cell factories and therefore their relevance in a White Biotechnology context. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is introduced as a promising tool that can be used to support the scaling up and scaling down of bioreactors, and for studying mixing and the potential occurrence of gradients in a tank. Establishment of efficient fermentation processes, especially for filamentous fungi, is traditionally a lengthy process, requiring considerable experiments and resources. This Perspective reports on the challenges related to achieving process improvements by using available engineering tools, such as mathematical modelling, which will allow development of more efficient fermentation processes and future application of industrial biotechnology to new processes.