From the trays, the caked bran is dumped into an ACCUMULATING HOPPER, which has an auger that drives it to a hammer mill that will break up the bran into particles small enough to pass through a #10 mesh screen. Pneumatic ducts will transfer this to a storage bin.

Samples are taken from each bin and checked for concentration and purity.

Should the concentration not meet its specification, the caked bran is placed in a blender, where more bacteria are added, until specifications are met.

Ultimately, blends of several strains of bacteria can be made by combining the bran of several bins, to make any given specific product. Of course, this, too, is sampled for quality control. 

To produce liquid products, the media and water are first heated in a FERMENTATION TANK to 250°F for an hour, then the temperature is reduced to the range needed for culturing.

When growth is finished, inhibitors are added, to encourage the bacteria to go into a dormant state. Following fermenting, the bacteria is run through a system to reduce the volume.  The concentrated cultures are checked and stored.

Later, these concentrates can be combined and mixed with dyes, perfume and surfactants in the MIXING TANKS you see in the middle and left parts of this picture.

The desired bacterial strain(s) is (are) introduced and fermentation takes place in the large tank you see below. To offer a perspective of the size of one of these tanks, notice the man standing next to one, pictured at the right. The fermenter can hold as much as 5,000 gallons.