What are the applications of continuous culture?

There are several applications of continuous culture. It is used in various industries for making single-cell protein, starter cultures, and organic solvents. It has been notably used in brewing beer, producing vinegar, and cultivating fodder yeast among other things. Continuous culture fermentation is also utilized in municipal waste treatment processes, where microorganisms are employed to break down organic matter efficiently. Another application is its involvement in the generation of secondary metabolites (e.g. antibiotics derived from microorganisms like Streptomyces species or Penicillium). Continuous culture fermentation has been used for biotechnological purposes, including the production of specific substances like L-lysine by mutant strains of bacteria like C. glutamicum (e.g., mutant B-6). This approach allows for controlled and sustained production of desired compounds.