Chapter 7 - Solid-state fermentation of food industry wastes

Abstract

Biochemical processing is one of the most important alternatives for value addition to wastes generated from the food industry. Particularly, their chemical and physical composition makes these types of residues excellent substrates for solid-state fermentation (SSF) processes. SSF technologies carry some advantages in comparison to the more industrialized liquid submerged fermentations. Nonetheless, and despite being an ancient method of fermentation, the development of SSF technologies has been rather slow. This chapter focuses on the design aspects of bioreactors for the SSF of food industry wastes. It covers the most typical challenges and potential advantages associated with this type of fermentation process with an in-depth review of their most important features.