Process and apparatus for semi-continuous fermentation, in particular for the industrial preparation of a biological mixture based on propionic acid.

摘要

The semi-continuous fermentation of a carbon-containing source for the manufacture of a biological mixture based on propionic acid according to an industrializable process is described. The device preferably includes a fermentation vat (6) comprising two external loops (9, 19) for circulating the fermented substrate. A first loop (9) stirs the fermented substrate while sampling the substrate and returning it to the fermentation vat (6). The second loop (19) extracts the propionic acid based biological mixture (21) thereby obtained and includes a biological mixture (21)/bacteria (23) separating module (22). The method thereby implemented is semi-continuous and consists of a series of fermentation/extraction cycles with complete recycling of the biomass, followed by partial recycling once a predetermined biomass concentration has been obtained.