Researchers have demonstrated how Bacillus subtilis BS20 can be optimized as a potent biocontrol agent for agriculture by scaling up antifungal metabolite production. Using the INFORS HT Labfors bench-top bioreactor, the team developed a process model and validated scale-up from 1 L to 10 L fermentation, maintaining high antifungal activity with a zone of inhibition up to 65 mm. This study offers a scalable, sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides through microbial fermentation.

At the University of Boras in Sweden, researchers have scaled up second-generation bioethanol production from beech wood chips using an acetone-based organosolv fractionation process. With the help of the INFORS HT Multifors bench-top bioreactor, they confirmed high fermentation efficiency at the 10-L scale, reaching ethanol yields of up to 95% from glucose-rich C6 streams. This study illustrates how optimized biomass pre-treatment and fermentation workflows can drive more efficient and scalable biofuel production.

Scaling microbial fermentation, when working with bacterial, fungal, or yeast-based systems, from laboratory scale to pilot or commercial production involves many challenges. Whether you are producing bacterial cultures for biopharmaceuticals, yeast for bioethanol production, fungal systems for enzyme manufacturing, or precision fermentation products, understanding these specific challenges and confidently overcoming them is important.

A bioreactor provides an ideal environment where cells can focus on what they are supposed to do: proliferate. Like lab workers, cells can only produce consistently good work if the conditions are right: it should not be too hot or too cold, and they have to have enough nutritious food and fresh air. In terms of a bioreactor, this means maintaining pH, temperature, ensuring sufficient gas supply and, depending on how the instrument has been configured, adding nutrients for successful maintenance of growth.