Filtration system coupled to a reactor comprising automatic sample inlet for processing and analysing samples from fermentation processes

摘要

The filtration appliance according to the invention linked to a process control computer (Figure 1) is used for the fully automatic detection of the filtration properties of a very wide variety of biosuspensions and for coupling automatic analysers with bioreactors. The appliance comprises a filtration unit (Figure 2a) with an automatically conveyed filter belt, a photometric measuring device for detecting filtercake growth, a weighing appliance for the filtrate and the infeeds and valves for automatic charging, emptying, cleaning, sterilisation of the sample infeed, and appliances for transferring the filtrate into automatic analysers (for example HPLC). The preferred field of application of the filtration appliance is in the computer-linked monitoring and control of fermentation processes, this being an area where hitherto there has been a lack of reliable automatic processes for the important key variables such as, for example, concentration of biomass, nutrient substrates and metabolic products. The concept, on which the design of the appliance is based, that of discontinuous cake filtration in the non-sterile range, ensures the required reliability in terms of the risk of contamination for these processes. The constructional details of the appliance permit, in particular, its use for separating systems having extremely high viscosities and ensure the required purity of the filtrate for connecting automatic analysers.