HISTORY

Industrial Fermentation is any microbial process controlled by humans that produces useful
products

Louis Pasteur He showed that fermentation is directly caused by the life processes of minute
organism.

Now scientists are directing the life processes of yeasts, bacteria, and molds to produce
chemicals. Microorganisms, which include bacteria, yeasts, and molds, feed upon organic
materials. It is this feeding that interest the manufacturer, for if they are supplied with the
necessary energy foods, together with other needed nutrients, these microvegetative organisms
will not only grow and multiply but will change the into other chemical substances.

1880 - the beginning of industrial fermentation to produce lactic acid which Is a useful
product other than alcohol.
During WW1 - Chaim Weizmann developed a fermentation process to convert corn to
acetone and n-butanol.
Between 1920-1940 Citric Acid and Glutonic Acid were successfully produced.
During WW2 the discovery of antibiotics, such as penicillin.

MICROORGANISMS

YEASTS
Unicellular and of very small dimension
Irregularly oval and around .004 to 0.010 mm in diameter
Multiply by budding
BACTERIA
Unicellular and of very small dimension
Mostly 0.007 mm in the longer dimension, and more diverse in shape.
Bacilli, are rod shaped.
Multiply by binary fission.
MOLDS
Multicellular filaments and increase by vegetative growth of the filament.

ENERGY CLASSES OF MICROORGANISMS

Microorganisms can be classified according to the sources of energy they use:

1. Phototrophs organisms that use light as an energy source

2. Chemotrophs organisms that use chemicals as energy source

3. Chemoorganotrophs organims that use organic compound as energy sources.

4. Chemolithotrophs organisms that use inorganic chemical as energy sources.

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MICROBIAL NUTRITION

Microbial Nutrition is about supplying cells with the chemical tools they need to make monomers.
These chemical tools are called nutrients.

A. Macronutrients

1) Carbon used to make new cells

Autotrophs microorganisms that are able to build their organic structure from CO 2
Heterotrophs utilizes carbon from organic compounds.
2) Nitrogen
Next most abundant element in the cell (about 12%)
A major element in proteins, nucleic acids and several other contituents of the cell.
The bulk of available nitrogen in nature is in inorganic form (NH 3, NO3-, N2
3) Phosphorus
Occurs in nature in the form of organic and inorganic phosphates
Required by cells primarily for the synthesis of nucleic acids and phospholipids.
4) Sulfur
Require because of its structural roles in amino acids
Present in a number of vitamins.
5) Potassium
Required by all organism
6) Magnesium
Functions to stabilize ribosomes, cell membranes and nucleic acids
7) Calcium
Not all essential element for the growth of many microorganism
Helps stabilize the bacterial cell wall
Plays a key role in the heat stability of endospores
8) Sodium
Requires by some but not all microorganisms
9) Iron
Plays a role in cellular respiration

B. Micronutrients

These are nutrients required in minimal amount, sometimes even in trace amount only
Most are metals that plays a structural role in various enzymes
(Cr, Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, W, V, Zn, Fe)

TEMPERATURE CLASSES OF MICROORGANISMS

Temperature is one of the most important environmental factors affecting growth and
survival of microorganism.

1. Psychrophiles with low temperature optima (0-15 oC)

2. Mesophiles with midrange temperature optiman (15 -45 oC)

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 3. Thermophiles with high temperature optima ( 45-70 oC)

4. Hyperthermophiles with every high temperature optima (above 70 oC)

OXYGEN AS A FACTOR IN MICROBIAL GROWTH

Microorganims vary in their need or tolerance for oxygen.

1. Aerobes Species capable of growth at full oxygen tension and many even tolerate
elevated concentrations of oxygen (hyperbaric oxygen)

2. Microaerophiles These are aerobes that can use oxygen only when present at levels
reduce from the air

3. Facultative Aerobes These organisms that can grow under either aerobic/anaerobic
conditions under appropriate nutrient and culture conditions

4. Aneaorbes Organisms that lack a respiratory system and cannot use oxygen as a
terminal electron acceptor.

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

a) Salinity: Halophiles salt-loving organisms

b) Acidity : Acidophiles acid-loving organims

TYPES OF FERMENTATION

1. Aerobic

It is a fermentation process that uses adequate aeration for the microorganims

Bioreactors are used as fermenters may have mechanism for stirring and mixing of
medium and cells

In addition, these fermenters may have a mechanism for stirring and mixing of the
medium and cells

Example products that are produced with aerobic fermentation: Antibiotics,

enzymes, vitamins, and others.

2. Anaerobic

A provision for aeration is usually not needed

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 Examples of products that are produced by anaerobic fermentation are:

Lactic Acid

Ethanol

Wine

Others

USES AND ECONOMICS

Almost all the major antibiotics are obtained from fermentation process.

Dextran is another fermentation product.

The microbiological production of vitamins has also become economically important.

Fermentation under controlled conditions involves chemical conversions.

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 Oxidation(alcohol to acetic acid, sucrose to citric acid, dextrose to gluconic acid.

Reduction(aldehydes to alcohols(acetaldehyde to ethyl alcohol), sulfur to hydrogen

sulfide)

Hydrolysis(starch to glucose and fructose and on to alcohol.

Esterification(Hexose phospate from hexose and phosphoric acid.

BASIC PRE-REQUISITES OF A GOOD FERMENTATION

1. A microorganisms that forms a desired product. This organism must be readily propagated
and be capable of bilogical uniformity, thereby giving predictable yields

2. Economical Raw materials for substrate, e.g., starch or one of several sugars

3. Acceptable yields

4. Rapid fermentation

5. A product that is readily recovered and purified.

APPLICATIONS

1) Industrial Alcohol

Industrial alcohol was an outgrowth of alcoholic beverages, but now it has become
important by virtue of its economically useful properties as a solvent and for synthesis of
other chemicals. In industrial nomenclature alcohol means ethyl alcohol, or ethanol.

Manufacture of Industrial Alcohol

RAW MATERIALS

Alcohol from cellulosic materials, wood, wood wastes, and sulfite liquors.

Cuban molasses was used as the fermentable material.

Corn is considered to be the most promising raw material for fermentation to

alcohol, especially as gasohol.

Equations of Monosaccharide Production:

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Equations of Fermentation:

A small amount of glycerin is always found in alcohol fermentation.

2) Beers, Wines, & Liquors

A good brewer has to be an engineer, a chemist, and a bacteriologists.

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 Alcoholic beverages are divided into three groups:

Malt liquors
Fermented wines
Distilled liquors
Beers require malted(germinated) grain to make carbohydrates fermentable
Wines are produced by the action of yeast on the sugar fruit
Distilled liquors are fermented liquors which are then distilled to increase alcoholic
content

RAW MATERIALS
Grains and fruits supplying carbohydrates.
Chief raw materials are cereals, corn, barley, rice, and grapes
o BEER
Beer and allied products are beverages of low alcoholic content (2 to 7%) made by
brewing various cereals with hops, usually added to impart a more-or-less bitter taste to
control the fermentation that follows.

BEER MANUFACTURING
1) Brewing of the mash through to the cooled hopped wort
2) Fermentation
3) Storage, finishing, and packaging for market.

o WINE
Wine has been made for several thousand years by fermentation of the juice of
the grape like other fermentation, many primitive procedures have been supplanted by
improves science and engineering to reduce costs to make more unfirom products.
o DISTILLED SPIRITS
Various fermented products, upon distillation and aging, yield distilled liquors.

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3) Vinegar & Acetic Acid

The aerobic bacterial oxidation (by the genus Acetobacter) of alcohol to dilute acetic
acid (8%) is another procedure, furnishing vinegar, a flavored acetic acid solution,
fermented from wine, cider, malt, or dilute alcohol. If pure dilute alcohol is fermented, pure
dilute acetic acid results.

If a fruit juice Is turned to vinegar, certain esters are formed, varying with the raw
material and thus imparting a characteristic flavor. Synthetic acetic acid id made from
ethylene, or by treating methanol with carbon dioxide.

4) Citric Acid

Citric Acid is one of our most versatile organic acids. Its major use is as an acidulant
in carbonated beverages, jems, jellies, and other foodstuffs.

Citric Acid is manufactured by aerobic fermentation of crude sugar or corn sugar by

a special strain of Aspergillus niger, following the classical research by Curie. The overall
reactions are

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 5) Lactic Acid

Lactic Acid, 2-hydroxypropionic acid, is one of the oldest known organic acids. It is
the primary constituent of sour milk, where its name, being formed by the fermentation of
milk sugar(lactose) by Streptococcus lactis. Commercially, lactic acid is manufactured by
controlled fermentation of the hexose sugars from molasses.

6) Butyl Alcohol and acetone

Until WW1, all the acetone produced was made by the dry distillation of calcium
acetate from pyroligneous acid. The demand for acetone increased for the manufacture of
smokeless powder.
Clostridium Acetobutylicum bacteria was the microorganism in fermentation of corn
in the production of acetone and butyl alcohol.
Today, acetone is coproduced with phenol by the oxidation of cumene or
dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol. It is used as a solvent and in fabricating plastics.

7) Miscellaneous Compounds
Monosodium Glutamate
The amino acid glutamic acid may be prepared synthetically, but chemical
preparation produces a racemic mixture.
L-Glutamic acid can be obtained directly from fermentation of carbohydrates
with Micrococcus Glutamicus or Bacterium Divaricatum.
Dyhydroxyacetone
Dihydroxyacetone (HOCH2COCH2OH) is made by the action of sorbose
bacterium fermentation of glycerin. This is an ingerdient of suntan lotion that
creates an artificial tan. It is also valuable as a chemical intermediate and as
a catalyst in butadiene-styrene polymerization.
Pharmaceutical Products

The Pharmaceutical industry has long employed fermentation(biosynthesis) to

manufacture some of its most important medicaments.

Controlled microorganisms are a most important chemical processing agent and

assist in performing very complicates chemical reactions, in many cases more
economically than purely chemical conversions.

ENZYMES

Enzymes can be classified by their method of activity:

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 Oxidoreductases
o Oxidation-reduction
Group Transfer
o Tranderases
Hydrolysis
o Hydrolases
Group Removal
o Lyases
Isomerization
o Isomerases
Ligases
o Ligases

Over 3000 enzymes have been extracted and purified. An enzyme generally can be stored dry
and cool for several months or even years, but in solution it may lose its catalytic ability in
minutes or hours.

The amylases are the most important of the carbohydrases. One of the newer applications
is the use of glucose isomerase to change glucose to fructose. These enzymes are often made by
submerged fermentation, starting with corn-step liquor and cornstarch. This mixture, after proper
sterilization and cooling, is inoculated with Bacillus Subtilis and fermented. More amylases are
commercially produced than any other enzyme.

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