The aim of the demonstration project ANAERO-CONTROL (BIO4-CT98-0193), coordinated by the Institute of Applied Microbiology, was to optimise the performance of industrial fermentations. The consortium of European companies and institutes used optical sensors for the fast and reliable measurement of metabolites and end-products in the fermentation broth and in the bio-reactors head-space. In a first step the invented sensors and a newly developed decision-support tool, based on highly adaptable and self-learning neural networks, were used to control the very complex process of anaerobic digestion. Subsequently it was shown that the same control strategy could be used for industrial fermentations, e.g. the production of optical pure Hydroxy-isobutyric acid, a precursor substance in pharmaceutical industry.
More information can be found under http://www.anaerocontrol.com.