Solid-state fermentation conditions
Polyurethane foam (PUF) was used as in inert support for the SSF. PUF was ground using a toothed blade mill(Pulvexmini
100s) was passed through a sieve number 20. PUF was then washed twice with hot water and once more with cold water,
dried at 60 1 C for 48 h(Rodriguez-Duranetal.,2011). The culture medium based on YM broth contains imidazole as an
inducer of production of lycopene . The fermentation was carried out incolumn bioreactors (24 mm diameter and 18mmheight)