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Microbial Fermentation

  • DeltaV
  • Siemens PCS 7
  • DO cascade
  • Induction automation
  • ISA-88
  • Fed-batch

Microbial fermentation is faster, more aggressive and less forgiving than mammalian cell culture. Growth rates are higher, oxygen demand more volatile, and the induction phase — where the culture switches from growing biomass to producing the target protein — is where most DCS implementations fall short. Standard out-of-the-box DCS configuration cannot define the threshold for induction and respond to it automatically. Our Process Automation Engineers configure the full fermentation control sequence as an integrated DCS and MES system — DO cascade, feed management, foam control and automated induction — running from inoculation to harvest without requiring an operator to make real-time process decisions.

Microbial Fermentation

Where we deliver

  1. 01

    Inoculation and Growth Phase

    DCS controls temperature, pH and agitation from inoculation — with feed control configured on predetermined profiles or dynamic DO and pH feedback depending on the process design. MES manages the batch recipe, inoculation parameters and growth phase in-process records from the first entry.

  2. 02

    DO Cascade and Aeration Control

    We configure the cascade properly — agitation speed first, then airflow increase, then oxygen enrichment — with each step triggered at the right threshold, not at arbitrary set points set during commissioning and never revisited. The result is a fermentation that stays in the DO control band without operator intervention, consistently, across every batch.

  3. 03

    Induction Phase Automation

    We configure the DCS to automate the induction decision — integrating process analytical inputs, feed rate adjustment and induction trigger so that the transition from growth to production happens at the right biomass level every time. This is one of the most impactful automation improvements we deliver in microbial processes and one of the areas most commonly left unaddressed by generic DCS configurations.

  4. 04

    Foam Control and Feed Management

    Foam detection and antifoam addition through DCS interlocks; feed rate management against growth rate targets with MES recipe control. Both are areas where an automation gap creates process deviation and batch loss. We treat them as primary control requirements from the outset of the DCS design.

  5. 05

    Harvest and Downstream

    Centrifugation and depth filtration with DCS flow and pressure control; MES batch record from harvest through downstream processing, fully traceable from inoculation to final bulk.

Next

Microbial processes transferred between sites carry specific DCS and MES alignment challenges — different cascade configurations, different induction trigger logic, different recipe structures. Our Tech Transfer team maps those differences at the control level. CQV support available where required.

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