A survey of computational and physical methods applied to solid-state fermentation.
During the last decade, significant effort has been made to apply computational and physical methods to solid-state fermentation (SSF). This had positive impact both on our understanding of the basic principles underlying this old technology, and on the latest progress made in industrial bioengineering. Guidelines on bioreactor design and operation including scale-up, new methods for biomonitoring and advanced control strategies are among the most important outcomes of practical use. Nevertheless, there still is a lack of experimental data, which hampers parameter identification and thus broader use of mathematical modeling. More attention should therefore be paid to combining and concentrating modern physical techniques and computational approaches in order to allow better model validation and thus further progress in rational bioengineering of SSF.