Producers of bulk food and feed ingredients such as amino acids, organic acids, and vitamins use fermentation as the basis of their production. Today's modern industrial biotechnology processes use carefully selected and purified microbial cell cultures to produce an ever-increasing variety of ingredients and increase productivity. During fermentation, the microorganisms multiply in industrial bioreactors, utilizing a carbohydrate source for energy. The course of microbial growth progresses under well-controlled conditions of aeration, agitation rate, temperature, pH and other parameters. Fermentation can last from a few hours to several days. The metabolic end products produced by the microorganisms are the basis for many ingredients used today. After fermentation, essential steps of extracting and purifying the metabolites of interest from the cell mass follow. The first step is primary broth clarification, which removes the spent cells and other suspended solids from the fermenter contents. Primary broth clarification is carried out using various methods ranging from centrifugation to filtration. Today's ingredient manufacturers seek the most cost-effective clarification solutions to provide the highest product quality and maximum yield while ensuring process safety and minimizing waste volumes.
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Challenge
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Solution
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Benefits
A major feed additives and vitamins manufacturer requires technology to produce various products in a closed system. Due to changing market conditions, this producer desired a degree of flexibility in operation that matched the manufactured product type. The fermentation broth ranged, on average, from 20 to 25 % spin solids, a relatively high solids load. Varying feed stream characteristics and throughput conditions required additional system flexibility. Maximum separation efficiency of the desirable components of the fermenter broth was needed to achieve very high and constant downstream fluid quality. The chosen clarification technology is required to achieve high volumetric concentration factors (VCF) and maximize yield. The system of choice needed to be automated, reliable, simple to operate, and robust against power failures and process upsets.
Membralox® ceramic crossflow technology offers consistent, high-quality filtrate, providing an effective physical barrier for optimal separation without the waste associated with filter aid-based systems. It allows reusing retentate, such as for animal feed.
Large-diameter membrane channels handle high-feed spin solids, achieving over 45% retentate concentration, with diafiltration enhancing the final yield by over 25%. Initial pilot testing with Pall® Scientific Laboratory Services determined the necessary membrane pore size and process parameters for scale-up.
Three systems were designed to meet the plant's growing capacity, allowing operators to adjust parameters like VCF, flux, and diafiltration ratio based on feed quality. The robust ceramic modules are suitable for various feed streams, ensuring higher permeate rates in high solids load applications through crossflow filtration.
This manufacturer required a cost-effective and flexible system capable of achieving high permeate quality and reliable system operation.
The Membralox system offered the following:
- Process flexibility due to batch system configuration
- High product recovery due to high solids handling capability and use of diafiltration
- Reduced cost and increased efficiency of downstream processes due to high filtrate quality, as compared to centrifuge and precoat technologies
- Reduced process maintenance and waste due to the absence of filter aids
- Extremely long life due to ceramic element construction
- Reduced operator exposure and maximum product protection due to a fully enclosed design
- Process simplicity, reliability and safety due to system automation
- Space savings due to compact system footprint.
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