Contents



Preface

Fermentation-based industrial and biotechnological processes have been the subject of study for centuries. In addition, some sectors, such as food and biofuel production, have highlighted fermentation-based processes, while seeking new flavors and new natural sources from which to obtain healthy natural compounds with high nutritional value in the case of food; or new natural sources for raw material for the

Even so, there are certain limitations that make many of these processes inefficient and economically unprofitable. Examples of some of these limitations include the corrosion of bioreactors, for example, caused by certain conditions in highly ionic media; in other cases, the production of some secondary metabolites of interest is associated with the use of organic reagents and solvents that are contaminants.

Recently, advances in molecular biology techniques, massive data analysis, and new engineering technologies and processes have led to solutions to some of these problems. Nevertheless, many other issues remain unsolved and more study should be done in the next future to overcome them (fermentations on a large scale using extremophilic microorganism remains highly unexplored at the time of writing this book).

This book is aimed at addressing some recent examples of fermenting-based processes in which parameters and stages in production of several compounds by fermentation are optimized. The book contains eleven chapters written by international experts in the field of fermentation. The topics covered by the chapters are related to food and beverage fermentation, production of bio combustibles, and bioprocesses to produce cell therapy products among others. Consequently, this book contributes to the implementation of fermentation to obtain valueadded compounds in the market, which are low cost and low time consuming. The examples collected could be of interest not only to professionals and researchers in the field but also to students at the advanced undergraduate and graduate levels.

The editor gratefully all the authors, IntechOpen editorial staff as well as the author service manager and acknowledge that this book would never have been written without their valuable contribution. The editor hopes that the readers will enjoy the organization of the subject matter and find the book to be a valuable source of new information on the many and varied facets of fermentation-based processes.

**Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa**

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,

Senior Lecturer,

Alicante, Spain

Faculty of Science, University of Alicante,

production of bio-fuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.
