A typical Fermenter

A typical Fermenter
An agitator system
An oxygen delivery system
A foam control system
A temperature control system
A pH control system
Sampling ports
A cleaning and sterilization
system.
A sump and dump line for
emptying of the reactor
Fermenter Material
Fermenters are mostly made of stainless steel. Stainless steels are
often polished to a mirror finish. This finish makes cleaning and
sterilizationof thereactor easier
Stainless steel refers to various alloys of primarily iron, nickel and
chromium. Molybdenum may also be added to increase the
resistanceof thesteel tocorrosion.
Stainless steels come in different grades designated by standard
codes, for example: 302, 304, 316, 318. In general, higher the
number, greater theresilienceof thesteel
Grade of stainless steel most widely used in the construction of
bioreactors is 316L. The "L" indicates the steel has a low carbon
content.
Fermenter Material
Stainless steel components usedintheconstructionof bioreactors
are joined in an oxygen-free environment using a special
techniqueknownasTIGwelding.
TIG stands for Total Inert Gas andthis involves theuseof argon
todisplacetheair. Thepresenceof oxygenintheweldscancause
corrosionat theweld.
Laboratory scale bioreactors with liquid volumes of less than 10
litresareconstructedout of Pyrexglass.
Fermenter Geometry
Fermenter normally has a
cylindrical or acurvedbase.
A curved baseassists in the
mixing of the reactor
contents.
They are generally
constructed to standard
dimensions.
These dimensions take into
account both mixing
effectiveness and structural
considerations.
Fermenter Geometry
R ati o T y pi cal v al ues R emar k s
H ei ght of l i qui d i n r eactor to hei ght of
r eactor
H
L
/ H
t
~0.7- 0.8 D epends on
the l ev el of
f oami ng
pr oduced
dur i ng the
f ermetnati on
H ei ght of reactor to di ameter of tank H
t
/ D
t
~1 - 2 E ur opean
reactors
tend to be
tal l er than
those
desi gned i n
the U S A
D i ameter of i mpel l er to di ameter i f tank D
a
/ D
t
1/ 3 - 1/ 2 R ushton
T ur bi ne
reactors are
gener al l y
1/ 3 of the
tank
di ameter.
A x i al f l ow
i mpel l er s
ar e l ar ger.
D i ameter of baf f l es to di ameter of tank D
b
/ D
t
~0.0.08 - 0.1
I mpel l er bl ade hei ght to di ameter of
i mpel l er
W / D
a
0.2
I mpel l er bl ade w i dth to di ameter of
i mpel l er
L / D
a
0.25
D i stance betw een mi ddl e of i mpel l er bl ade
and i mpel l er bl ade hei ght
E / W 1

A tank's height:diameter ratio is often referred to as its aspect ratio
Fermenter Geometry
Working volume will be 70-
80% of the total fermenter
volume.
But this might vary
depending on the rate of
foam formation during the
reactor. If the medium
produces more foam, then a
larger headspace and smaller
workingvolumeisfollowed.
This vary inbatchfermenters too. It depends onwhether the
fermentationisaerobicor anaerobic
Fermenter Components
The agitation systemconsists of the agitator and
thebaffles.
Thefunctionof theagitationsystemis
to provide good mixing and thus increase mass
transfer rates through the bulk liquid and bubble
boundarylayers.
to provide the appropriate shear conditions
requiredfor thebreakingupof bubbles.
Bafflesareusedtobreak theliquidflowtoincrease
turbulenceandmixingefficiency.
Number of impellers will depend on theheight of
the liquid in the reactor. Each impeller will have
between 2 and 6 blades. Most microbial
fermentationsusearushtonturbineimpeller
Fermenter Components
The most commonly used agitator in
microbial fermentations.
Like all radial flow impellers, the
Rushton turbine is designed to provide
the high shear conditions required for
breakingbubbles andthus increasingthe
oxygentransfer rate.
TheRushton turbinehas a4 or 6 blades
whicharefixedontoadisk.
The diameter of the Rushton turbine
shouldbe1/3of thetankdiameter.
Oftenreferredtoasadiskturbine.
Rushton turbine
Fermenter Components
Fermenter Components
Unbaffled bioreactor:
a large vortex. The
liquid is circulating
around the impeller.
Baffled bioreactor:
small bubbles from
gas entrainment &
the absence of a
large vortex.
Stirring speeds required for
turbulence in a baffled reactor is
many magnitudes less than that for an
unbaffled fermenter
Fermenter Components
A top entry impeller
("overhung shaft") is more
expensive to install as the
motor and the shaft will need to
be structurally supported
Bottom entry agitators tend to
require more maintenance than top
entry impellers due to the formation
of crystals and other solids in the
seals .
Fermenter Components
A compressor forces the air into the reactor. The compressor will
need to generate sufficient pressure to force the air through the
filter, sparger holes and into the liquid.
Air compressors used for large scale bioreactors typically produce
air at 250 kPa. The air should be dry and oil free so as to not block
the inlet air filter or contaminate the medium
Fermenter Components
Sterilization of the inlet air is doneto prevent
contaminating organisms from entering the
reactor. The exit air is sterilized to not only
keep contaminants from entering but also to
prevent organisms in the reactor from
contaminating the air.
A common method of sterilizingthe inlet and
exit air is by membrane filtration. For small
reactors (with volumes less than 5 litres), disk
shaped hydrophobic Teflon membranes
housed in a polypropylene housing is used.
are used. Pleated membrane filters housed in
polypropylene cartridges are usedfor large
scale (1000 l) fermenters. By pleating the
membrane, a compact filter with a very large
surface area is created.
Fermenter Pressure
Without aeration, a vacuum
forms as the reactor cools
With aeration, positive pressure
is always maintained and
contaminants are pushed away
from the reactor
Fermenter Components
The air sparger breaks the incoming air
into small bubbles. Various designs can be
used such as porous materials made of
glass or metal. The most commonly used
type of sparger ring. A sparge ring consists
of a hollow tube in which small holes have
been drilled.
The sparge ring must be located below the
agitator and be approximately the same
diameter as the impeller.
Thus, the bubbles rise directly into the
impeller blades, facilitating bubble break
up
Air sparger Ring
Fermenter Components
Slow impeller speed
The bubbles will not be sheared
into smaller bubbles and will
tend to rise directly towards the
surface
Fast impeller speed
Smaller bubbles will be generated and
these bubbles will move throughout the
reactor increasing the gas hold up and
bubble residence time
Foam formation
Excessive foamformation can lead to
blocked air exit filters and to pressure
build up in the reactor. The latter can
lead to a loss of medium, damage to
thereactor andeveninjurytooperating
personnel.
Foamis typically controlled with aid
of antifoaming agents based on
siliconeor onvegetableoils. Excessive
antifoamaddition can however result
inpoor oxygentransfer rates.
Foam character
During afermentation, bacteriaand fungi tend to producedetergent like
molecules. Thesemoleculesincludeproteinsandlongchainfattyacids
Detergent & detergent
like molecule
Accumulate in the
bubble-liquid
interface and thus
cover the bubbles.
If the hydrophilic end is
charged (as with ionic
detergents), the bubbles will
then repel each other and thus
prevent bubble coalescence
Antifoam function
Vegetableoils areoftenusedby thecells as asubstrate. Siliconeoils are
biologicallyinert andthuscancauseproblemsindownstreamprocessing.
However, theyare moreeffectiveantifoamingagentsthanvegetableoils.
Antifoaming agents act
by binding up
detergents and thus
preventing them from
aggregating around
bubbles
No antifoam With antifoam
Antifoam function
Excessantifoamlevelsdecreaseoxygentransfer ratesby:
decreasing mass transfer coefficient of oxygen by hindering the
movement of oxygenthroughthegas-liquidinterface
decreasingtheinterfacial areabyencouragingbubblecoalescence.