On-line measurement and control of penicillin V production in a tower loop reactor

Penicillin V was produced in a 98‐dm 3 tower loop reactor using a production strain of Penicillium chrysogenum in pellet form. By using control devices, the aeration, the only energy input in a tower loop reactor, decreased by an average of 75%. The amounts of precursor substance (phenoxyacetic acid), acid, base, ammonium sulfate and urea, added during the penicillin fermentation process, were reduced by applying an automatic analysing system to the process.