ZYMON at 37th FEW

Interested in knowing more about Actionable In-line Monitoring of Bioethanol Fermentation with ZYMON? Find us on Booth 606 at FEW 2021 (13-15th July, Des Moines). Our VP of Bioethanol Business Unit Steen Skjold-Jørgesen will also be presenting the “Experience with online actionable process monitoring based on MIR”, July 14th 3:30 PM.

Experience  with online  actionable process monitoring based  on  Mid Infrared Spectroscopy     

Several attempts have been made to apply IR spectroscopy to online monitoring of fermentation processes. Socalled ‘Near Infrared (NIR)’ generally fails due to need for frequent recalibration to the specific system being measured. Mid Infrared Spectroscopy provides very distinct information about the molecular species at hand, but the technology has so far been deemed too fragile for industrial application. 

Specshell has developed ZYMON – a robust precalibrated instrument tailored for grain to ethanol fermentation. The instrument provides online actionable information about the early phases of fermentation where intervention is still possible. This paper provides an overview of the technology behind ZYMON, as well as an account of the industrial experience so far. 

The instrument went to work day 1 without a need for plant specific calibration, it measured for months in a row without interruption, and it provided thorough insights with the performance of the process as well as the added ingredients such as yeast and enzymes. Infections were spotted early on as well as deviations from the production protocol around filling, ingredient addition as well as cleaning cycle.