The microbial fermentation process is the interaction between microorganisms and culture medium. The quality of this process directly affects the quality and yield of the product. During the fermentation process, factors such as the type of microorganism, the physical state of the culture medium (liquid or solid), the oxygen supply (aerobic, anaerobic or facultative anaerobic), the fermentation method (intermittent or continuous), and the type of strain (single or mixed) will affect the fermentation results.
(Application scenarios of microbial fermentation defoamers)
The types of microbial fermentation are diverse, which means that various problems may be encountered during the fermentation process, one of which is the generation of foam. The generation of foam will interfere with the fermentation process, so measures need to be taken to eliminate it. The use of defoamers is a common solution, especially for difficult-to-control foam, the use of microbial defoamers is more effective.
In the batch fermentation process, each batch fermentation process undergoes inoculation, production and reproduction, strain aging, and then ends the fermentation, and then the product is extracted. In the early stage of fermentation, the medium consumes less nutrients, the medium is rich in components, and foam is often generated and difficult to suppress. Adding an appropriate amount of microbial defoamer can effectively control the generation of foam.
In the process of fed-batch fermentation, regular replenishment of materials can maintain the substrate concentration in the culture medium, ensure the growth of microorganisms and avoid various regulatory reactions caused by excessive substrate matrix. However, if the quality of the culture medium is poor, the sugar and nitrogen are destroyed, and the seed hyphae of the microorganism will autolyze, causing a large amount of foam to be generated and accumulated. The use of microbial defoamers has a certain biological inertness and can be directly added to the fermentation liquid together with the base material. After high-temperature sterilization, the flow addition or feeding can play a good defoaming effect.
Continuous fermentation is a special fermentation method. When the microorganisms are cultured to the logarithmic phase, fresh liquid culture medium is continuously added to the fermenter at a certain speed, and the fermentation liquid is continuously discharged at the same speed, so that the growth and metabolic activities of the microorganisms in the fermenter always remain vigorous and stable. The bubbles generated in this process can also be solved by microbial defoamers.
