Submerged fermentation
The term submerged fermentation describes a fermentation or a fermentative process that takes place within a liquid or a dispersion ( submerged 'immersed'), mostly in a liquid nutrient medium . In contrast to submerged fermentation, fermentation takes place on solid phases on a carrier material.
principle
Since submerged fermentation applies to most modern biotechnological processes, this term is rarely used in biotechnological terminology.
Since the first biotechnological processes were mostly surface or solid-state processes (cf. vinegar , soy sauce ), it was necessary to differentiate between the later developed mostly in bioreactors and these early processes. This was done through the term submerged procedure . This can be illustrated by the historically significant example of penicillin production . The very first methods cultivated the mold Penicillium notatum as a skin on a liquid surface while the penicillin was excreted into the liquid below. By developing fermentersWith sufficient ventilation for oxygen supply, it was then possible to produce penicillin much more effectively in a submerged fermentation in which the mycelium is distributed in the liquid. It was only through this step that production on the scale of the late 1950s was made possible.
Applications
All modern biotechnological processes carried out in stirred tanks or loop fermenters are typically submerged fermentations. The activated sludge process in wastewater technology or most brewery processes also belong in this category, as do microbial fluidized bed processes.
No submerged process are for example the historically significant shackle process or a fixed bed process , such as trickling filters or biofilters (also satisfies the definition of the bioreactor).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Präve, Uwe Faust, Wolfgang Sittig, Dieter A. Sukatsch: Handbook of biotechnology . Oldenbourg Industrieverlag, 1994. ISBN 9783835662230 . P. 385.