AGITATORS FOR MYCELIAL FERMENTATIONS

Improved mycelial fermentation performance following replacement of traditional Rushton turbines with new agitator types in existing industrial installations has recently been reported. Still further improvements could be achieved by a better understanding of mixing processes in fermenters. Ideally, to facilitate design, system-specific biological parameters should be related to generic non-specific physical aspects of agitation - especially for viscous mycelial fermentation because of the complicated feedback interdependence between morphology, rheology, mixing and transfer processes. © 1990.