Solid state fermentation pilot-scaled plug flow bioreactor, using partial least square regression to predict the residence time in a semicontinuous process

Abstract

Plug flow bioreactor (PFB) used in solid state fermentation gives the possibility to have semicontinuous culture. However, it is complicated to follow a single particle during its residence inside the bioreactor and to therefore study precisely the culture process all along the device. In this study, semicontinuous production of fungal compounds was successfully obtained by cultivating Aspergillus niger with a PFB prototype. Kinetic productions of the same metabolites along the bioreactor were obtained at laboratory scale to predict the residence time of the particles inside the PFB from Partial Least Square (PLS). This original methodology allowed (1) the comparison between the production kinetics at the two production scales (pilot and laboratory) and (2) the observation of eventual changes following the scale-up of the process offering a good overall insight of the PFB performance.