Digital image processing as a tool to monitor biomass growth in Aspergillus niger 3T5B8 solid-state fermentation:...

The estimation of biomass is an essential parameter for controlling fermentation processes. However, monitoring biomass growth in filamentous fungi solid-state fermentation is laborious. The aim of this study was to provide a better insight into the monitoring of biomass growth in Aspergillus niger 3T5B8 solid-state fermentation using a digital image-processing technique. The images were acquired with a stereomicroscope and a digital camera, and processed using KS400 software. Growth was evaluated every 24 h for 5 days, and quantified as the total area occupied by the hyphae. The correlation between the results of the proposed methodology and the polygalacturonase data was greater than 0.9, showing that a direct and linear relationship can be expected among these parameters. This work indicates that the digital processing technique can be used for indirect biomass estimation in a solid-state fermentation process.