Strain development and bioreactor control for industrial fermentation processes

Bio-based technologies have their inception at laboratory scale. The focus of initial work is often, strain engineering (to achieve target chemical production) and fermentation performance to improve biocatalyst performance (titer, productivity and yield).   Progression from the laboratory to commercial scale involves overcoming hurdles, technical and financial, can derail the most promising bio-based technologies.

The technical difficulties during commercialization efforts fall into three interrelated categories (i) production strain performance, (ii) bio-reactor process control and scale-up, and (iii) product separation and purification.  Any of these can derail commercialization.

Strain factors impacting process viability include (i) strain stability and robustness, (ii) nutritional requirements, and (iii) intrinsic performance in terms of titer, yield and productivity.

Bio-reactor design and process controls are linked to fermentation performance and are affected by (i) scale dependent mass- and gas transfer (mixing time, dissolved gases, fermentor and impeller design), (ii) direct, ‘real-time’ implementation of additions (nutrient/substrate feed or pH maintenance), and (iii) seed train.

Challenges during product recovery include (i) recovery losses and (ii) target chemical purity and quality. Both are affected by medium composition, product characteristics and metabolites generated by the biocatalyst. 

MBI specializes in helping bio-based technology companies overcome these hurdles, a process we refer to as ‘de-risking’.  We collaborate with partners to demonstrate their technologies at pilot scale, establishing the scalability and commercial potential of a technology that is critical in securing further investment.

Opportunities and challenges of de-risking will be discussed considering the additional challenges of using of non-food derived sugars.