Design of Bioreactors in Solid-State Fermentation

The rapid development of biotechnology has made tremendous impact on various sectors of economy over the last several years and solid-state fermentation (SSF)is getting more attention from industry as well as researchers because of its several advantages over submerged fermentation. Advances in fermentation techniques made the scale-up of products easier and cheaper, and in this context, design of bioreactors for SSF application is very important. Compared to submerged fermentation, it is difficult to control the fermentation conditions in SSF and these difficulties are exacerbated with increase in scale. Tremendous improvements in the design and process have happened since 2000 for large-scale process development through SSF. This chapter discusses the different types of bioreactors used for SSF, advantages and drawbacks, as well as prospects and consequences and commercialization aspects.