Case 1: Improving Starter Culture Production
Fermentations are often inhibited by organic acids or bases produced by the microorganisms. By integrating the REED technology with the fermentation process it is possible to remove produced acid or base.
Thus, the exponential growth phase of the microorganisms can be significantly extended without the normally occurring growth inhibition.
From theory to practice
In production of starter cultures the growth phase has been prolonged by connecting the fermenter to a REED system, which continuously removes inhibiting lactic acid.
The graphs illustrate the difference in starter culture concentration in two fermentations performed at a customer site.
The light blue curve shows the starter culture concentration under standard batch fermentation conditions; whereas the dark blue graph shows the concentration development when the REED system is connected to an otherwise identical fermentation setup.
By continuously removing the lactate inhibiter during the REED assisted fermentation and prolonging the fermentation time by 60%, an approximate 10-fold increase in starter culture product concentration is obtained compared to a standard starter culture fermentation.