A client based program will allow the client to phone over the internet direct to their bioreactor to monitor the progress of their fermentation and change process variables if required. In this project the collaboration between Ciba Specialty Chemicals and the University has been very close, particularly during the period of the Teaching Company programme. Much of the experimental data needed by the company to optimise the conditions for production trials has come from experiments performed in the Centre's 10 L. bioreactor, giving the Centre the opportunity to operate and refine the monitoring and control system associated with it. The decision to change from an immobilized to a free cell biocatalyst meant that considerable research effort was necessary to solve the associated problem of biocatalyst removal from the product stream. The flocculation of bacterial suspensions plays an important role in the University's biotechnology programme.
Flocculation is used as an immobilizing process to prevent wash out of cells from a bioreactor.
Recently interest has turned to the addition of flocculants to bioreactor product streams to assist the removal of the free cell biocatalyst. The flocculation of bacterial cells in the situations mentioned is often complicated by the presence of dissolved natural polyelectrolytes in the suspending media, which may also be at a high ionic strength. The Centre has developed considerable expertise in the use of coagulant-flocculant blends and modified Hydrocol TM systems to address the situation. There is evidence that these applications for flocculant use in the area of biotechnology are worthy of continued research effort. A rheometer is used to measure the rheological properties of flocculated solids.