A complete computer monitoring and control system using commercially available, configurable software for laboratory and pilot plant Escherichia coli fermentations.

The advent of inexpensive computers and associated control and data acquisition software makes possible the development of sophisticated, configurable, integrated monitoring and control systems for small-scale laboratory and pilot-scale fermentors at low cost. We describe here the implementation of such a system, the interfacing of off-line instruments to enhance real time data analysis, low level process control and several substrate feeding protocols.