T. Bachinger et Cf. Mandenius, Physiologically motivated monitoring of fermentation processes by means ofan electronic nose, CHEM ENG TE, 24(7), 2001, pp. 33-42
An on-line approach of non-invasive monitoring of the physiological changes
in fermentation processes is presented. In yeast batch and bacterial fed-b
atch fermentations it is shown that metabolic state changes can be revealed
using an electronic nose. The transient responses of the gas sensors to th
e changes in the composition of the volatiles emitted from the cell culture
s during fermentation are used to retrieve a semi-quantitative representati
on of the physiological state of the cultures. With the sensor responses of
the electronic nose it is shown that physiological variables such as rates
of growth, substrate uptake and product formation can be depicted. The non
-invasive method thus seems as a pertinent alternative to conventional bior
eactor monitoring methods.