Keit Spectrometers developed a technology that allows improved control of industrial processes by using real-time chemical reaction analysis. Their flagship product, the IRmadillo™, is an FTIR solid state sensor which directly observes the chemical vibration of molecules. The simplicity of the instrument, coupled with a vibration-resistant design, makes it extremely stable.  Practical applications for this technology have already been demonstrated across multiple industries, particularly the Chemicals, Oil & Gas industries. With the rise of the biotechnology and fermentation processes, new opportunities for real-time analysis monitoring (RTM) are now available in the Bio-renewables, Pharmaceuticals, and Food & Beverage industries.

While Raman technology has been the accepted as the RTM gold standard by these communities, Keit Spectrometers aim to demonstrate that their alternative is compact, vibration-tolerant and dependable, operates indoors and outdoors, and has proven long-term stability at a highly competitive price.

Keit Spectrometers, in collaboration with the Centre for Process Analytics (CPACT) and the IBioIC Technical Team, compared the performance of the Keit IRmadillo™ with three other conventional spectrometers (Near Infrared, Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared), by following the production of bioethanol from sucrose fermentation in a 15L fermenter.

To gauge capability, spectrometer outputs were monitored constantly throughout the fermentation and sampling was carried out for offline HPLC measurement of ethanol and organic acid production and carbon source depletion.