Recent developments and innovations in solid state fermentation

After forty years of research development, an overview of solid-state fermentation (SSF), focusing on its applications, mainly of the very recent papers of the last five years, is presented. This review comprises the most important developed processes concerning the production of enzymes, biopulping processes, and traditional processes, for food fermentation, such as the production of Chinese daqu and koji, and industrial important biomolecules such as organic acids, pigments, phenolic compounds, aromas and biosorbents. SSF bioreactors design that has been developed is reported, so as the solutions for the classical drawbacks and the most important cases of successful employment of the technique are described. And, finally, it is summarized a very interesting report of patents and innovations regarding SSF products and processes.