Electrochemical monitoring of citric acid production by Aspergillus niger

Highlights: • Citric acid fermentation process (production) by Aspergillus niger. • Qualitative/quantitative monitoring of standard culture and culture infected with yeast. • Electronic tongue based on potentiometric and voltammetric sensors. • Evaluation of the progress and the correctness of the fermentation process. • The highest classification abilities of the hybrid electronic tongue. - Abstract: Hybrid electronic tongue was developed for the monitoring of citric acid production by Aspergillus niger. The system based on various potentiometric/voltammetric sensors and appropriate chemometric techniques provided correct qualitative and quantitative classification of the samples collected during standard Aspergillus niger culture and culture infected with yeast. The performance of the proposed approach was compared with the monitoring of the fermentation process carried out using classical methods. The results obtained proved, that the designed hybrid electronic tongue was able to evaluate the progress and correctness of the fermentation process