Industrial fermentation scales up microbial fermentation, the metabolic conversion of a substrate by yeast, bacteria or fungi, from a kitchen or brewery process into a controlled, large-volume industrial method. Carried out in sealed vessels called bioreactors with controlled temperature, pH, oxygen and nutrient feed, it is the production method behind bulk antibiotics such as penicillin, industrial ethanol, citric acid, amino acids and, since the 1980s, recombinant proteins such as insulin made by genetically engineered microorganisms. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core PrincipleGrowing a chosen microorganism or enzyme in a controlled, large-volume sealed bioreactor, feeding it a substrate under managed temperature, pH and oxygen conditions, so it converts that substrate into a target product at industrial scale. 1 Origin YearDeep-tank fermentation, developed under wartime pressure in the United States, scaled penicillin production from laboratory flasks to industrial bioreactors beginning in 1943. FAQs
Why can a fermentation that works in the laboratory not simply be copied at industrial scale?
Laboratory conditions cannot be applied blindly to industrial equipment, and no general scale up formula exists.
Scale up, the conversion of a laboratory procedure into an industrial process, is an important element of industrial fermentation, and what works well in the laboratory may work poorly or not at all when first attempted at large scale. It is generally not possible to take fermentation conditions that worked in the laboratory and apply them blindly to industrial equipment. No general formula exists, because fermentation processes vary so much. The most important approaches are keeping power consumption per unit of broth constant and keeping the volumetric transfer rate constant.
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Sources
1. Industrial Fermentation (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation in manufacturing processes.
In Group: Chemical Production Processes, Introduction
Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation in manufacturing processes.
View the Source 2. Penicillin (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationMass production sectionQuote, Mass production section
In July 1943 the War Production Board drew up a plan for the mass distribution of penicillin stocks to Allied troops fighting in Europe.
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