DAB.bio’s Turbocharged Fermenter Reduces Biomanufacturing Costs by 50%
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) … In today’s Digest, a look at the DAB.bio fermenter and why it’s different, how they successfully completed four out of four runs with butanol, a terpene compound, and a rose-smelling alcohol, how this can bring down the cost of biobased ingredients and help reduce fossil fuels in a more viable manner, and more.
FAST Fermentation
If you haven’t heard of DAB.bio before, they are a spin out from Delft University of Technology and the developer of a fermentation ‘turbocharger’ that increases productivity and fermentation length vastly improving biomanufacturing economics. Following nearly 10 years of R&D and three patent families on its core technology, DAB.bio’s solutions remove inhibitory-to-microorganism products from industrial fermentation processes. Its FAST fermentation technology is the only biomanufacturing platform to enable continuous production in large markets.
So what’s the big news that makes them want to do the dab dance in celebration? Well, they had successful fermentation runs in their FAST (Fermentation Accelerated by Separation Technology) bioreactor, demonstrating that the technology lowers the unit cost of fermentation-based production at scale.
Why is this exciting?
Using FAST to produce fermented compounds promises to enable higher market shares for biobased ingredients used in everyday products, thereby reducing societies’ dependence on fossil-based chemicals.
So how does it work?
FAST dramatically increases fermentation performance and lowers product costs by continuously removing product from the fermenter. This boosts the amount of product formed and simplifies the purification process and the amount of equipment needed.
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Industries served include flavors and fragrances, food, nutraceuticals, natural insecticides, pigments, and specialty chemicals.
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These runs demonstrate how DAB.bio’s game-changing fermentation technology, which can be scaled up quickly and easily, transforms the economics of bio-manufacturing. The innovative technology allows for long-duration fermentations and efficient separation of the product into a concentrated stream. READ MORE