WHEN TO START AND WHEN TO STOP A FERMENTATION PROCESS?

This is considered the "MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION" by all who run industrial fermentation process. Determining when to start and when to terminate a fermentation process is akin to playing shares on the stock market. The similarity between the two situations are the same. It is always very easy to start a fermentation process anytime but it is more difficult to determine the exact time to terminate the fermentation process.


If we terminate too early we might end up with lesser amount of fermentation products being formed and more raw substrates remaining underutilized by the microbes. If we terminate it too late, we might have higher amount of fermentation products formed and little or nothing of the raw substrate remaining in the fermentor (THEORETICALLY SPEAKING)

The catch is even though the second option seems more favourable but the cost of producing the fermentation products at the end part of the fermentation process will increase per unit of fermentation product formed.The rate of fermentation product decreases at the end stages but the costs of maintaining the fermentation in terms of time, energy will be higher.

The most important guideline to determine when to terminate the fermentation process will be ECONOMICS! Further in fermentation processes involving microorganisms even if we switch off the fermentation process, the process of fermentation is still active and on going in the fermentation vat