What is Fermentation: Definition and 24 Discussions

Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food production, it may more broadly refer to any process in which the activity of microorganisms brings about a desirable change to a foodstuff or beverage. The science of fermentation is known as zymology.
In microorganisms, fermentation is the primary means of producing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by the degradation of organic nutrients anaerobically. Humans have used fermentation to produce foodstuffs and beverages since the Neolithic age. For example, fermentation is used for preservation in a process that produces lactic acid found in such sour foods as pickled cucumbers, kombucha, kimchi, and yogurt, as well as for producing alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer. Fermentation also occurs within the gastrointestinal tracts of all animals, including humans.

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  1. jim mcnamara

    Sonochemistry(?) and cheese fermentation

    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hip-hop-and-mozart-improve-flavor-swiss-cheese-180971721/ This experiment stretches my belief system way past the huh o0) stage. Seems that if you play different types of music (24/7) for a curing cheese wheel you get different flavors. Hip hop...
  2. mktsgm

    Can proteins and fats undergo fermentation like carbohydrates?

    Fermentation can be defined as the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids. Here sugar is the main substrate which is converted to alcohol. Can such a process happen in proteins and fats also?
  3. G

    Help in Chemostat Fermentation Question

    Homework Statement You are provided with the graph below (attached) about a very interesting microorganism that produces a new biofuel. From these data, obtained in steady state chemostat (continuous) cultures for different dilution rates (D, in h-1), limiting substrate (S) and biomass (X)...
  4. Q

    What are the fermentation byproducts in MacConkey agar?

    of course, different things grow there. so i'd expect perhaps (and thank you) some several answers depending-on. is 'fermentation' very speciically carbon dioxide, water, and ethanol? i wouldn't think it's being used that exactly. what other compounds get made by what-that people grow in...
  5. Ygggdrasil

    On the Importance of Positive Controls

    Found this abstract while browsing through some papers, and thought it was quite humorous: Endy, Galanie & Smolke. 2015 Complete absence of thebaine biosynthesis under home-brew fermentation conditions. bioRxiv doi:10.1101/024299 Full text freely available at...
  6. K

    Need help in calculating amount of cold water required

    need to cool down 1000 ltrs of water from 121 Degree C to 36 Degree C.Jaket volume of fermentor is 200 ltrs. How much cold water at 25 Degree C required ?at what flow rate?how much time required.?
  7. E

    Can Ammonium Bicarbonate 'salt out' ethanol alcohol?

    I'm testing Ammonium Bicarbonate in a fermentation process. Is it possible for Ammonium Bicarbonate to 'salt out' Ethanol? Compounds such as Sodium Carbonate and Ammonium Sulfate are able to salt out ethanol.
  8. M

    State of carbon dioxide during fermentation

    Homework Statement I know that the process of fermentation occurs in two steps, however, in the second step where glucose/sucrose is broken down into ethanol and carbon dioxide, is the carbon dioxide expelled as a gas or in an aqueous state? (I'm assuming water is involved here)Homework...
  9. D

    Yeast in Fermentation Process

    Yield of ethanol is mostly about survivability of the yeast. We were wondering why Yeast can't survive too high concentrations of ethanol? Something to do with the denaturation of proteins? Not really sure on this, any help is appreciated Thanks
  10. D

    Effects of Water on Fermentation Process

    A recent investigation was carried out where we varied the amount of water in the fermentation process. What effect does water have on the fermentation process? And why does this happen? What will happen if we put very little in, or what would happen if we put heaps in. We are looking at...
  11. D

    Molasses Fermentation: Questions & Answers

    A couple of questions regarding the fermentation and distilling of molasses, What is the effect of yeast on the fermentation process? Would varying the amount of yeast effect the amount of ethanol produced or purity of it. What is the best ratio of molasses:yeast is this worth investigating...
  12. R

    Fermentation and cellular respiration with same ATP synthesis rate

    You are comparing two cultures of cells. One undergoes cellular respiration and one ferments. Both cultures produce ATP at the same rate (for example, 100 ATP/msec). If this is true, what else would you observe about the fermenting culture? Choose /any that apply. a. It would require more...
  13. M

    Fermentation kinetics info resources?

    Howdy all, Recently I have dabbled in homebrewing mead and it turned out... drinkable at best. I am making another batch soon and want to improve my methods. I am a nuclear engineering student, so naturally I feel that something as personal, liberating, and chemically miraculous as...
  14. O

    What causes pH to decrease during fermentation?

    I was making some wine recently for my undergraduate biochemistry course and i have to explain why the pH of the wine decreased during fermentation. I am genuinely at a loss; what is responsible for this decrease in pH?
  15. 1

    Rate my answer regarding fermentation.

    I have been given a bonus question prior to the test. Compare the end products and total energy yield for glycolysis and respiration with fermentation in muscle cells. What problem does fermentation solve? What problem does fermentation create? What is oxygen debt? Glycolysis &...
  16. S

    Wine Fermentation Heat Generation

    I am working on an HVAC system for a winery. Part of the heat loading during the peak late summer/fall season will be from the fermentation process and I am having difficulty finding information on the amount of heat generated from fermentation of wine. Exposed wine surface area of each tank...
  17. J

    Do All Plants Use Fermentation for Energy Production?

    I was reading my lab manual, and it says "All living organisms, including protists, bacteria, and plants, create ATP in fermentation or cellular respiration and then use ATP in metabolism." It doesn't go into any more detail than that, it just states it like it's a known fact and then moves...
  18. P

    Testing photoheterotrophic, autotrophic and fermentation of R.rubrum?

    I need to test photoheteretrophic, autotrophic and fermentation growth of R.rubrum bacteria, all of which require anaerobic conditions. For fermentation, i am placing the bacteria with fructose in the dark, and for phototrophic in the light with fructose, and for autotrophic in the light with...
  19. M

    Why does salt and ethanol affect CO2 production in fermentation?

    Why does salt and ethanol affect carbon dioxide production in the fermentation process of sucrose? Is it because the yeast has to break the sugar down by hydrolysis and that ethanol and salt are soluble, thus, in 'competition' with the yeast because they are occupying needed water molecules...
  20. C

    How Does Fermentation Rates Change With Different Types of Yeasts? (Biology Q)

    Homework Statement How Does Fermentation Rates Change With Different Types of Yeasts? The Attempt at a Solution I have a procedure written up, which I'm confident about. However, I need 2 academic experiments from websites to confirm my procedure. I literally searched every database...
  21. I

    Rusting in the fermentation room. Explanations?

    Hello all, Recently I have come across a problem that I cannot seem to understand. A fermentation room was built out of an insulated wall system provided by a company called BONDOR, started to rust at the corners of the joints between the walls and ceiling. The rivets started rusting as well...
  22. G

    Ethanol Production Through Fermentation: Questions Answered

    I have read that ethanol is produced by fermenting sugar, but I do not know what kind. I also read ethanol is produced by fermenting cellulose, which is correct? I've heard that ethanol can be produced from grass and newspaper, is there anything special you have to do to it? What crop/organic...
  23. S

    Lactic Acid Fermentation

    How does the absense of catalase cause lactic acid fermentation by bacteria? Also, what coenzymes/cytochromes do lactic acid-producing bacteria not have that may cause them to anaerobic?
  24. N

    Fermentation Vs Respiration

    ok, we all know that respiration is much more effective in producing atp.. but Will fermentation or the respiration have the highest metabolic rate when compared on a mass specific basis (in moles ATP x hr^-1 x g^-1)?
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