Fermenters
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| fermenter | 发酵罐 | fā jiào guàn |
| sterile | 无菌的 | wú jūn de |
| stirrer | 搅拌器 | jiǎo bàn qì |
Growing microbes on a large scale
- To make products like medicines or food on a big scale, microbes are grown in huge tanks.
- These tanks are called fermenters 发酵罐.
Fermenter control loop
Watch how a fermenter keeps microbes growing at the best rate.
A fermenter is used to:
Fermenters culture microbes to make products.
What a fermenter is
- A fermenter is a large vessel that grows microbes under carefully controlled conditions.
- Everything is kept ideal so the microbes grow fast and make lots of product.
A fermenter grows microbes with the temperature, pH, oxygen and nutrients all controlled
A water jacket around a fermenter is used to:
It cools the tank to keep the optimum temperature.
Which conditions are controlled in a fermenter? (Select all that apply.)
Temperature, pH and oxygen matter; tank colour does not.
Controlling the conditions
- Temperature is controlled (a water jacket removes the heat from respiration).
- pH, oxygen (air is bubbled in), and nutrients are all kept at their best.
A fermenter is kept sterile to stop other microbes contaminating the product.
Sterile conditions prevent competition and contamination.
A ______ keeps the contents of a fermenter mixed and evenly supplied.
Stirring distributes heat, oxygen and nutrients.
Keeping it sterile 无菌的
- The fermenter is kept sterile (free of other microbes) so nothing competes or contaminates the product.
- A stirrer 搅拌器 keeps everything mixed and evenly supplied.
Fermenters must remove heat, not add it. Microbes respire and release heat; if the tank overheats, enzymes denature and the microbes die. A cooling water jacket keeps the temperature at the optimum.
You've got it
- a fermenter grows microbes in large amounts under controlled conditions
- temperature, pH, oxygen and nutrients are all kept ideal (a water jacket cools it)
- it is kept sterile and stirred to maximise product and avoid contamination