Stirring as Foam Disruption (SAFD) Technique in

Fermentation Processes
FRANS W. J. M. M. HOEKSI,*, CARLA VAN WEES-TMGERMA.@, KURT GASSER3,HENRICUS M. MOMME@,
SERGIO SCHMIL? and KAREL ChA.M. LUYBEM
LONZA AG, 3930 Visp, Switzerland
*KluyverLaboratory for Biotechnology, D e w Universig of Technology, Julianalaan 6 7,2628 BC Dew, The Netherlands
31ngenieurschule Wallis, Route du Rawyl4 7, 1950 Sion, Switzerland
4LONZA Biotec sro, Okruini 134,28161 Koufim, Czech Republic
Foam reduction through stimng was studied in 20 L bioreactors with artificial media and with an actual biotransformation process. For a given stirrer configuration and within a certain range of the broth mass, the foam height was correlated with the broth mass, i.e. the distance between upper stirrer and dispersion surface, and with the superficial gas
velocity. Increasing the stirrer speed often resulted in reducing the foam height. A mechanistic model was developed for
the Stirring As Foam Disruption (SAFD) technique, relating the foam height to the horizontal liquid velocity near the
dispersion surface. The model illustrates the general applicability of the SAFD technique and points to foam entrainment
as the major mechanism for the foam disruption.
On a etudie la reduction du moussage par Iagitation dans des bioreacteurs de 20 1 avec des milieux artificiels et avec
un procede de biotransformation reel. Pour une configuration dagitateur donnee et dans une certaine gamme de masse
de bouillon de culture, la hauteur de mousse a ete correlee a la masse de bouillon, soit la distance entre Iagitateur
superieur et la surface de dispersion, ainsi qua la vitesse de gaz superficielle. Augmenter la vitesse de lagitateur conduit
souvent a la reduction de la hauteur de mousse. Un modele mecanistique a ete mis au point pour la technique de desintkgration de mousse par agitation (SAFD); ce modele relie la hauteur de mousse a la vitesse liquide horizontale pres de la surface de dispersion. Le modele illustre Iapplicabilite generale de la technique SAFD et suggere que Ientrainement de la
mousse est le mecanisme essentiel de la desintegration de la mousse.
Keywords: foam, fermentation, mechanical foam control, gadfoam entrainment, multiple impellers.

n many technical processes, foam is an undesired phenomenon. There exist quite a number of mechanical,
chemical or thermal ways to destroy foam (Pahl and Franke,
1995). In fermentation processes, foaming is caused mainly
by proteins. Concentrations of 1 mg/L suffice to influence
foaming (Prins and vant Riet, 1987). Foam takes up space
and therefore reduces the effective production volume.
Secondly, the gas-outlet filters of bioreactors can be blocked
or get wet due to foam overflow, risking loss of a fermentation run.This risk could be minimized by operation with a
large head space. However, this reduces bioreactor output.
Accumulation of substrates and biomass in the foam also
reduces productivity (Schugerl, 1985). The enrichment of
cells in the foam might cause autolysis of the cells releasing
proteins and enhancing the interaction of surfactants with
dissolved proteins resulting in more foam. Consequently,
reduction of the foam layer in bioprocesses is a must. There
are several ways to do this:
1) Addition of an anti-foam agent. The addition of (large
amounts of) anti-foam is less desirable, because it reduces
gas hold-up and therefore oxygen transfer (Lee et al., 1993,
Yasukawa et al., 1991a) and may have negative effects on
the purification process after the biotransformation.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail address:

frans.hoeks@lonza.ch
1018

2) A rotating disc foam breaker mounted in the head space

of the bioreactor overcomes these disadvantages (Ohkawa
et al., 1984, 1987; Yasukawa et al., 1991b). However, for
existing large scale bioreactors installing a mechanical foam
breaker can be difficult or too expensive (Lee et al., 1993).
3) Installing a conical shape draft tube into a bioreactor has
been proposed (Schubert et al., 1993). Inside the draf? tube, the
liquid is drawn down by a hydrofoil Lightnin A3 15 impeller
and pumped into the annulus. From the annulus the liquid
flows over the top of the draft tube into this tube. The proposed
mechanism for foam suppression is essentially caused by the
overflowing liquid curtain. It would be interesting to have
experiences on scale-up of this foam disruption mechanism
revealed. Furthermore, comparisons of effective production
volumes should be made, because the overflow implies that the
dispersion level in the draf?tube is lower than in the annulus.
This paper proposes to reduce the foam layer on the broth
through stirring. A statistical analysis of a series of biotransformation experiments at Lornas pilot plant revealed a
correlation between anti-foam consumption and stirrer
speed. The purpose of the work presented in this paper was
to devise experiments, providing evidence that foam can be
disrupted by stirring and insight on how this is achieved.
The observation that stirring can reduce foaming has been
made before (Ohkawa et al., 1984, Yasukawa et al., 1991b),
but the authors did not elaborate how this was achieved. On
the other hand, it has been stated that the foam layer is not
influenced by the stirrer (Schugerl, 1985).

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING. VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

TABLE1

Design, Dimensions and Hydrodynamic Data of Upper Stirrers (Data for the pump capacity coefficient (N ) are taken from Nienow
(1990), except for the pitched blade stirrers, for which N, was given by the manufacturer TECHMIX sro YBrno, Czech Republic))
D
P, at
P,, at
Stirrer
(swept)
W
L
X
No. of
500 rpm
800 rpm
mm
mm
mm
mm
blades
Po
W
W
type
N4
120
95
125
120
95

RT120*

PBD,,,***
PBD,,*

**

30
23.8
44
44
32

24
19
60
24
24

4.5

2
2
2
2

6
6
4

6
6

0.72
0.72
0.73
0.9
0.9

4.3
4.9
0.75

1.51
1.91

62
22
13
22
8.6

254
90
54
89
35

*Rushton turbine.
**Hydrofoil Lightnin A3 15.

***Pitchedblade stirrer pumping downward.

Materials and methods

0 mm
c1

.-.

47 mm

47 mm

Figure I -Schematic presentation of the bioreactor(s) used in the

SAFD experiments.
When studying the effects of stirring on foam disruption,
not only the stirrer speed, but also the stirrer configuration
should be the subjects of investigation. Therefore, a small
variety of stirrers was tested. Rushton turbines are still standard in industry, but alternatives such as pitched blade stirrers
or newer designs, e.g. hydrofoil impellers, wer6 evaluated as
well (Joshi et al., 1982, Nienow et al., 1993). Upper pitched
blade stirrers were used in the downward pumping mode
because on the pilot scale we observed that upward pumping pitched blade stirrers could push the foam up against
the tank wall into the gas outlet of the fermenter.
When devising the experiments on SAFD, the media
questionproved to be crucial. Testing foam disruption through
stirring in an actual bioprocess has the advantage of a high
relevance of the work. However, running a bioprocess is
quite labour intensive with respect to the aim of the foam
disruption studies. The labour intensity can be reduced by
using artificial foaming media allowing results to be
obtained more efficiently. Artificial foaming media are
described in the literature and can be used for comparison,
but might introduce artefacts. Therefore, both an actual bioprocess and artificial media were used to study SAFD.
The ultimate goal of the work presented in this paper is, to
propose a bioreactor design enabling an enhanced working
volume as a result of adequate foam disruption through stirring. Because stirring influences the gas hold-up of the broth
and, therefore, the working volume, changes in gas hold-up
should be evaluated when applying the SAFD technique.

The experiments were carried out in bioreactors with a

total volume of 20 L with inner diameters of 195 and
200 mm (MBR, Wetzikon, Switzerland). The bioreactors
had 4 baffles with a width of 19 mm. A ring sparger below
the bottom stirrer was used for air supply. The bioreactors
were equipped with two or three stirrers. See Figure 1 for
the dimensions of the bioreactors. In Table 1 the geometry
and power draw of the stirrers, used in the hghest position
are given: i.e. a 6-blade 45 pitched blade stirrer pumping
downward (PBD), Rushton turbines (RT)both stirrer types
with 95 and 120 mm diameter (subscripts 95 and ,20), and a
hydrofoil Lightnin A3 15 (HF).
A hollow blade stirrer, type
Chemineer with 6 blades (HB),was mostly used as a bottom
stirrer, because it has been demonstrated that the bottom
impeller determines the gas hold-up (Chiampo et al., 1991)
and therefore in principle also the foaming character.
Table 2 gives the stirrer configurations tested. These configurations were chosen for practical reasons, such as commercial availability of the stirrers.
All series of experiments were carried out in duplicate,
i.e. each stirrer configuration was tested in 2 biotransformations. The model media were prepared twice for each series
of experiments with one stirrer configuration.
The fed-batch L -carnithe biotramformations were carried out with mineral medium as described before (Hoeks,
1991; Hoeks et al., 1996). After the biomass growth phase,
the biotransformation of y-butyrobetaine into L-carnitine
was carried out. During this biotransformation phase, foam
disruption through stirring was studied.
The compositions of the model media are given in
Table 3. The Combinations of stirrer configuration and
media composition are given in Table 2. When the stirrer
configuration was altered, the medium was made afresh,
because surfactants from the skin influenced the experimental
results. Moreover, rubber gloves were used for the manipulations. In between experiments,the bioreactors were cleaned
with deionized water and ethanol.
Lee et al. (1993) related the foam height to the superficial
gas velocity. As a rule, the superficial gas velocity increases
when scaling up. In order to obtain data relevant for large
scale, the experiments on the laboratory scale were carried
out at superficial gas velocities which can also be found on
large scale, i.e. 0.0065 and 0.013 m/s. This corresponds with
a gas flow of 0.00020 or 0.00040 m3/s, respectively, or 10
or 20 L(STP)/min, f 2.5%, respectively, depending on the
diameter of the 20 L bioreactor used.

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

1019

TABLE2
Stirrer Configurations Tested (The 6-blade 45" pitched blade stirrer pumping upward (PBLI) had the same dimensions as the downward
pumping impeller (PBD).The hollow blade agitator (HB)of the Chemineer type CD-6 had 6 blades. The media are given in Table 3)
Middle
Bottom
Upper
Configuration
stirrer
stirrer
stirrer
Media tested
HB
I, I1
RT95
RT95
HB
L-c, I
RT95 - RT95
RT95
RT95
HB or RT,,,
L-c, I, 11,111, 1v
R7-I20
RTl20
HB
I, I1
PBD95
PBD95
HB
I
PBD95 - PBD95
PBD95
PBD95
HB
I
PBDl20
PBDl20
HB
L-c, I
PBDl2O - PBDl20
PBDl20
PBD120
HB
L-c, I
PBDl20
PBUl20
PBDI20 - PB"l20
HF
HF
I, I1
HB
HF-HF
HF
HF
HB
L-c, I
HB
HB
I

TABLE3
Composition of the Model Media Used (Concentrations in deionised
water in % (w/w). The description of the biotransfonnation medium
is given by Hoeks, 1991 and Hoeks et al., 1996)
Triton X-100
NaCl
Medium
Tween 40
I
0.0002
11
0.0002
4
111
0.00063
IV
0.00063
4
L-c
biotransformation

The gas hold-up cG was calculated from the difference

between dispersion volume and broth mass, assuming a liquid
density of 1000 kg/m3 for the artificial media without NaCl
or using the actual density of 1030 kg/m3 for the broth and
the artificial media with NaCl. The filtrate of the L-carnitine
broth contained 100 f 10 mgkg protein. The L-carnitine
broth had a surface tension of 0.04 N/m.

Modelling
DEVELOPMENT
OF THE MODEL FOR THE SAFD TECHNIQUE

The influence of the stirrer speed on the equilibrium

height of the foam layer during the biotransfomation was
studied by increasing the stirrer speed by steps of 100 from
500 to 800 rpm. The dispersion volume and the height of the
foam layer were measured at each speed. To study the effect
of the proximity of the upper stirrer to the dispersion level,
200 f 10 g of broth were taken out of the bioreactor and the
above increase in stirrer speed was repeated. The dispersion
volume was read from a litre scale fmed on the wall of the
bioreactor midway between two baffles with an accuracy of
f 50 mL. The height of the foam layer was measured with a
scale with an accuracy o f f 0.5 cm. After each time taking
200 g of broth out, the substrate feed rates were reduced to
keep the specific substrate feed rates at the same level as
before taking the broth out. Measurements of the L-carnitine
concentration showed that the biotransformation performance was normal (data not presented).
The exact L-camitine broth mass could only be determined after each biotransformation due to the requirement
for aseptic operation and due to technical limitations. At the
end of each biotransformation, approximately 750 g less
was present than calculated from reduction of broth mass
and sample taking. This loss could be explained by evaporation during the biotransformation. The rate of evaporation
derived from the above loss in broth mass was used to correct the calculated broth weight during the experiments.
The experiments with the model media were carried out
at 500 and 800 rpm only. Considerably less work was
involved in the preparation of the experiments with the
model media and, therefore, more stirrer configurations
could be studied.
Because the experiments with the model media were
short in comparison with the biotransformation, the loss on
evaporation was negligible. Liquid masses were determined
directly by weighing without any corrections.
1020

The mechanism for foam disruption through stirring

could be that the foam at the dispersion level is being drawn
into the liquid similar to the phenomena of gas entrainment
from the head space into the liquid. This "foam entrainment" has been suggested after observations using a
mechanical foam breaker and varying the stirrer speed
(Yasukawa et al., 1991b). Lee et al. (1993) assumed that the
foam is formed at the dispersion level of aerated vessels at a
speed equal to the superficial gas velocity vs or even hgher.
If the foam is rising at this speed and if the%oam disruption
through stirring would only be caused by foam entrainment,
the foam entrainment must happen at a superficial velocity
vsg (downward), if the foam height is to be zero. However,
thls would lead to the false conclusion that the net airflow at
the dispersion level is zero. Thus, foam entrainment alone
cannot be the only reason for foam disruption through stirring.
The mechanism of mechanical foam disruption is considered to be breaking up of the liquid lamellae between the gas
compartments in the foam by a certain stress on these lamellae (Pahl and Franke, 1995). In this paper, it is proposed that
the liquid lamellae between the gas compartments in the
foam at the dispersion level can be disrupted by a stress
caused by the liquid flow at the dispersion level as a consequence of stirring.
Since both foam entrainment and the stress on the liquid
lamellae causing foam disruption have the liquid flow at the
dispersion level as the common denominator, the basis of
the model for stirring as foam disruption (SAFD)technique
was to define a parameter representing the liquid flow at the
dispersion level. If this representation is adequate and if the
above hypothesis is correct, a correlation between the liquid
flow and the equilibrium foam height should be found.
The commonly accepted flow pattern generated by a radial
pumping stirrer consists of an upward flowing component
and a downward flowing component starting fiom the impeller

THE CANADlAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

plane at the tank wall (Josh et al., 1982, see Figure 2). In
this paper it is assumed that only the upward component of
the flow generated by the upper stirrer is relevant for SAFD.
For axial downward pumping stirrers, the liquid flow was
considered to consist of only one loop around the impeller
(see Figure 2). Axial pumping sthers form a rapid recirculation loop around the tips of the impeller blades when aerated (Manikowski et al., 1994).

MATHEMATICAL
ELABORATION OF THE SAFD TECHNIQUE
A cylinder with a diameter of half the tank diameter
(0.5T) from the middle of the upper stirrer to the gas-liquid
dispersion surface is defined (see Figure 2). For the mathematical elaboration of the model for axial pumping stirrers,
it is assumed that the flow direction of the liquid is horizontal
from the wall to the axis over the whole height of this cylinder. Furthermore, it is assumed that the liquid velocity is
constant over the height of the cylinder. Consequently, the
velocity vLdl of the above defined liquid flow at the position
of the cylhder wall is calculated by dividing the stirrer discharge flow under gassed conditions, QL,g, by the vertical
cylinder surface A, (see Figure 2). In formula:

..............................

QLX
vL.dl = 1

(1)

The scale independent parameter vL,dl is chosen to represent the horizontal liquid velocity near the dispersion level
and shall be related to the equilibrium foam height.
For radial pumping stirrers it is assumed that half the total
liquid flow generated by the Rushton turbine flows in an
upward loop and the other half in a downward loop (see
Figure 2). Therefore, the stirrer discharge flow QL,g for the
calculation of the liquid velocity vLdlin the upper loop is
divided by two ( Q L , 4 2 ) . Note that for radial pumping stirrers, the flow from wall to axis above the stirrer can only
exist in the upper part of the upward loop. In the lower part
of the upward loop the flow is from the axis to the wall (see
Figure 2). Again, a cylinder with a diameter of half the tank
diameter (0.5T) from the middle of the upper stirrer to the
gas-liquid dispersion surface is defined. For the mathematical elaboration of the model for radial pumping stirrers, it is
assumed that the flow direction of the liquid is horizontal
from the wall to the axis only in the upper half of this cylinder.
Furthermore, it is assumed that the liquid velocity is constant over the height of the upper half of the cylinder. Thus,
for the calculation of the liquid velocity VL,d[, the vertical
cylinder surface A, must be divided by two for radial pumping sthers (AJ2). Consequently, Equation (1) is valid for
radial pumping stirrers as well, because both QL,gand A, are
divided by two.
The height of the above defined cylinder is calculated by
taking the difference between the filling volume at the dispersion level ( v d ) and the filling volume at the level of the
middle of the upper stirrer (V,) and dividing it by (x/4)P.
The vertical surface area of the cylinder is xT/2 times this
height (see Figure 2):
Ac = zOST (vd - 5)
(n/ 4)T2

........................

(2)

The pumping capacity of a stirrer depends on the dimensionless pump capacity coefficient (Nq), the stirrer speed

T
Figure 2 - Schematic presentation of upper stirrer with model
cylinder and flow patterns of axial and radial pumping stirrers. V,
indicates the filling volume in the bioreactor at the level of the middle
of the upper impeller. Vd indicates the filling volume in the bioreactor at the dispersion level.

(N) and the diameter of the stirrer (0)and is given by the

following Equation (Oldshue, 1983):

QL,,= Nq N D 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)

Equation (3) does not take the entrained flow into account
(Oldshue, 1983).
The flow generated by impellers is reduced under gassed
conditions by the ratio of gassed to ungassed power draw of the
stirrer to the power 0.34 (Rousar and Van den Akker, 1994).
Q ~ ~ =pg ( 0.34
p y QL,u
)

.........................

(4)

The ratio of gassed to ungassed power draw is taken from

graphs of Pg/Puagainst gas flow number FIGfound in literature (see references below). The gas flow number, is calculated as follows:

Usually, the correlations between FIG and P /P, are

given for single impeller systems. Hudcova et al. ( h 8 9 ) and
Smith et al. (1987) have shown that these correlations are
also valid for upper impellers in multi-impeller systems at
low values of FIG and high stirrer speeds, which is the case
in the studies presented here.
Wannoeskerken et al. (1984) gave a Figure in which
P IP,,against the gas flow number is plotted for a pitched
bfade stirrer with 6 blades pumping downward. The P /P,
values determined at gas flow numbers of 0.01 and O.Ofare
used for a linear interpolation.

2 = - 1 7 . 5 F l ~ + 1 . 1 2 5 .......................
p,

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

(6)
1021

The plot of PgIP, against the gas flow number for the
hydrofoil Lightnm A315 is taken from Balmer et al. (1987)
for the hydrofoil Prochem Maxflo and also linearised.
Nienow (1990) stated that the hydrodynamics of both hydrofoil types are very similar.

P
2=-11Flc+0.73..
pu

........................

(7)

PgIPu for the Rushton turbine can be calculated with the

following Equation given by Joshi et al. (1982):

(gr25[

B
P=o.1 p,

N2D4 )-I5
gwV2l3

N,D = 0.732 m/s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(12)

Veljkovic et al. (1991) found the following correlation for

Rushton turbines of Dierendonck et al. (1971) fitting their
experimental data for unsparged conditions adequately:

N, = 1.55(T/D2)(h/T)( crgIpL) 0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (13)

............

The ungassed power draw at 500 and 800 rpm (P,) and
the power number (Po) of the various stirrers are listed in
Table 1. The ungassed power draw follows from (Joshi et al.,
1982):

P, = p Po N3 D5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9)

Power number data (Po)are calculated from (Bujalski et al.,

1986a).
Rushton turbine:

.....................
Po = 2.5 ( X / D ) ~ io.065
.

(10)

in which T is the tank diameter in m.

PBD, 6 blades, WID = 0.2:

Po = 0.78 (x/D)-O.I4(D/T)-O.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1 1)
Bujalski (1986b) argued that the power number increases
proportionally to the ratio of the blade width and the impeller
diameter (WID). The power number of the 95 mm pitched
blade stirrer is adjusted accordingly. Bujalski (1986b) found
that Equation (1 1) is valid for single downward pumping
stirrers at DIT < 0.5 and for upward pumping stirrers with
higher D/Tratios. In this paper, with multiple impeller systems
and DIT not deviating too much from 0.5, it is assumed that
Equation (1 1) can still be used. The hydrodynamic data for
the hydrofoil Lightnin A3 15 are taken from Nienow (1990).
COMPARISON WITH LITERATURE
A literature study did not reveal any publication on the
use of stirrers with the purpose of foam reduction. However,
when studying a rotating disk mechanical foam breaker,
effects of stirrer speed on foaming have been observed
(Ohkawa et al., 1984). Ohkawa et al. (1984) also observed
effects of liquid volumes on foaming, which are covered in
the above model by reducing the distance between the upper
stirrer and the dispersion level, thus increasing the liquid
velocity at the dispersion surface. In a publication of Bakker
and Frijlink (1989), drawing down and dispersing floating
solids (polystyrene spheres) were presented. They concluded
that upward pumping impellers close to the surface are most
efficient for drawing floating solids into the gas-liquid dispersion. It was found that the creation of a vortex, which is
advantageous for drawing down the floating solids, is not
easy under aerated conditions (Bakker and Frijlink, 1989).
1022

Veljkovic et al. (1991) reported on the surface aeration of

sparged and agitated vessels, which has long been understood as gas entrainment from the head space into the liquid.
Veljkovic et al. (1991) found a correlation for the minimum
stirrer speed N , required for the onset of gas entrainment in
unaerated vessels with one Rushton turbine (DIT = 0.33):

Equation (13) can be used for every geometry. Note

that N, is linear dependent on the distance h between upper
stirrer and liquid surface, which is consistent with the model
presented here. For the geometries presented here, the onset
of gas entrainment for the 95 and 120 mm Rushton turbines
under ungassed conditions would be around 100-200 rpm
according to Equation (13). This is far below the stirrer
speeds used in the experiments reported here. In other
words, in the experiments reported here the gas entrainment
from above the broth surface must have been high.
Interestingly, Equations (12) and (13) imply that NsD is
a constant for a given geometry and a given liquid. As can
be derived from Equations ( 1 x 3 ) for a given geometry:

v ~ ,a~ ND
, ...............................

(14)

Consequently, the approach of relating the foam height to

the liquid velocity at the dispersion surface is consistent
with the considerations concerning gas entrainment from the
surface. Furthermore, Equation (14) suggests that the tip
speed is the parameter to be kept constant when scaling up
the SAFD technique.

Results and discussion

FOAMHEIGHT
For all experiments the equilibrium height of the foam
layer was plotted against the L-carnitine broth mass with the
superficial gas velocity as a second parameter. For each stirrer
configuration and each stirrer speed, separate plots were
made. Striking similarities were observed. Therefore, a selection of the data for graphical presentation was made.
In Figure 3 the foam height is depicted as a function of the
broth mass for the 500 and 800 rpm experiments using the
120 mm Rushton turbine as upper stirrer in the L-camitine
biotransformation. Figure 3 shows that the foam height is
reduced by stirring faster within a certain range of broth
mass. Furthermore, increasingthe superficialgas velocity gave
an increase in the height of the foam layer. Experiments
with 600 and 700 rpm resulted in foam heights between the
values shown in Figure 3 (data not shown). The RT,,-RT9,
combination, the PBD120-PBD,20combination and the 2
hydrofoil stirrers show comparable relationships between
foam height and broth mass for a given airflow and given
stirrer speed. Only the data of the dual Rushton RT95-RT95
are presented (see Figure 4). Again the foam height can be
reduced by stirring faster. At 800 rpm, the RTgrRTg5 combination seemed slightly more effective in foam reduction
than the PBD,,o-PBD,20 and the dual hydrofoil combination, particularly at higher broth mass (data not shown).

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 7 5 , DECEMBER, 1997

30 25 -800 rprn

"I

15 --

0
0

I 10 --

I lo

800 rpm

20 ._

oooo
8

500 rpm

o
A

A
0

.*

0 0

5t
8

10

11

12

13

14

04
8

10

11

12

13

14

broth mass Ikgl

broth mass [kgl

Figure 3 - Foam height as a function of broth mass and superficial gas velocity for the 120 mm Rushton turbine (RT,20)as upper
stirrer at 500 and 800 rpm. Duplicate L-camitine biotransfomations. The open and the closed symbols distinguish between the
data of either the one or the other biotransformation.
0 vsg = 0.0065 d s , 500 rpm
A A: vsg = 0.013 d s , 500 rpm
0 W: vsg = 0.0065 d s , 800 rpm
0 0:vsg = 0.013 m/s, 800 rpm

Figure 4 - Foam height as a function of broth mass and superficial gas velocity using two 95 mm Rushton turbines (RT9>- RT?,)
as upper stirrers at 500 and 800 rpm. Duplicate L-camitine biotransformations,For symbols see Figure 3.

Comparison of all the upper stirrers at the highest superficial gas velocity and a given stirrer speed shows that the
large Rushton turbine of 120 mm diameter resulted in the
lowest foam height for a given broth mass (compare Figures
3 and 4). During the experiments reported here, it was
observed that the 120 mm Rushton turbine created the
largest vortex and had the best foam reducing properties.
This corresponds well with the observations by Frijlink and
Bakker (1989) on drawing down of floating solids. Tanaka
and I m i (1987) found that larger impellers are more effective concerning gas entrainment.
Of course, the power draw of the 120 mm Rushton is
much larger than those of the other stirrers for a given stirrer
speed. However, the Rushton turbine of 120 mm diameter
draws less power at 500 rpm than the 95 mm Rushton turbine at 800 rpm (see Table 1). Still, the foam height at a
given broth mass and a given superficial gas velocity was
considerably lower for the 120 mm Rushton turbine at
500 rpm than with the 95 mm Rushton turbine at 800 rpm
(compare Figures 3 and 4). Consequently, for a given power
draw large stirrers at a low stirrer speed have to be preferred
(see below). The hydrofoil has a lower ungassed power
draw than the RTss and the PBD,,, (see Table 1). A hydrofoil of 140 mm would have an ungassed power draw of
23 W at 500 rpm, comparable to the power draw of the RTs5
and PBD,,,. Therefore, the foam reducing properties of a
140 mm hydrofoil should be better than those of a 95 mm
Rushton turbine or a 120 mm PBD at equal stirrer speed.

Consequently, a hydrofoil impeller could be suggested for

retrofitting a bioreactor in order to apply or improve SAFD.
When using the model media, the phenomena concerning
foam disruption as described above for the biotransfonnation
system were to a large extent observed as well. Not surprisingly, the experiments with the model media were much
more reproducible in comparisonwith the biotransfonnation
experiments (see figure 9 for example). Figure 3 at 500 rpm
illustrates the variation introduced by the biological system:
The closed triangles in figure 3 seem to form 2 lines, which
are caused by carrying out the SAFD experiments at 2 different time intervals within one biotransformation.

+:

FOAMMAP FOR SAFD

The experiments on stirring as foam disruption technique
show 3 "foam regimes":
1) In practically all systems studied, there seemed to be a
certain maximum broth mass below which there was hardly
any foam present. In other words: It appears to be possible
to create enough stress on the liquid lamellae and enough
foam entrainment by stirring to disrupt the foam of a normally foaming system completely. This so called maximum
foam free broth mass depends on the superficial gas velocity,
the stirrer configuration, the stirrer speed and the medium
(see Table 4). Generally speaking, increasing the stirrer
speed from 500 to 800 rpm gave an increase in the maximum
foam free broth mass of 4 to 20%. However, there were

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

I023

exceptions where the opposite occurred, e.g. with the

PBD120-PBU120
combination, which was the worst foam
reducing stirrer combination of all.
2) At a broth mass higher than the maximum foam free broth
mass, there was in many cases a range of broth mass in
which the foam height was almost linear dependent on the
broth mass for a given superficial gas velocity and a given
stirrer speed (see Figures 3 and 4). Doubling the airflow in
this range of broth mass resulted in a foam layer, which was
approximately twice as high (see Figures 3 and 4). At constant broth mass in the range of foam regime 2 and at constant airflow, increasing the stirrer speed from 500 to
800 rpm gave a reduction in foam height of 20 to 50%.
3) At a higher broth mass still, in some cases there seemed
to be a height of the foam layer which was independent of
the broth mass, or the foaming could not be kept under control.
The observation that there seemed to be a constant height of
the foam at higher broth mass was more profound with the
model media. When using Medium I and only stirring with
the hollow blade impeller at the bottom of the tank, the foam
height was 7-8 cm, practically independent of the superficial gas velocity. This observation is not consistent with
Bikerman's theory on foaming, but has been observed
before (Lee et al., 1993). Consequently, elaborating SAFD
only makes sense if the equilibrium foam height is in the
range, in which the foam height is influenced by stirring, i.e.
regimes 1 and 2. This equilibrium is system dependent. Note:
The equilibrium foam height was 2 to 3 times higher for the
biotransformation system as compared to the model media.
The observations described under foam regime 2 are consistent with Bikerman's theory concerning the dynamic
equilibrium of foam, which Lee et al. (1993) redefined as a
constant ratio between foam height and superficial gas
velocity. Through stirring this dynamic equilibrium can be
influenced, but at too high distances between upper stirrer
and dispersion level, foam reduction through stirring does
not occur anymore (foam regime 3). This compares well
with observations on gas entrainment: Tanaka and Izumi
(1987) showed that reducing the liquid height in a stirred
tank facilitated gas entrainment strongly. Thus, at too high
distances between upper stirrer and dispersion level, not stirring but other phenomena determine the foam height, such
as redistribution of surfactants, secondary foam formation,
foam mass, etc. (Pahl and Franke, 1995).
Interesting is the comparison between configurations with
one and with two upper stirrers of the same type and size.
There was a tendency that one stirrer was more effective
than two. This is best shown by the comparison of the maximum foam free broth mass, which was up to 15% higher
with one stirrer (see Table 4a). If the flow generated by the
upper stirrer is the cause of foam disruption, a reduction in
foam disruption ability caused by the middle stirrer in close
proximity points at an interference of the flows generated by
the upper and the middle impeller. As Chiampo et al. (1993)
have demonstrated, this interference is strong at low
impeller spacings, as is the case here with 3 impellers, and
increases with increasing superficial gas velocity. The interference of the flows may also explainwhy the PBD,20-PBUl,o
combination did not have good foam disruption properties.
Analogous to the comparison of the Rushtons of different
diameters, 95 mm pitched blade stirrers were less effective
in foam disruption than 120 mm pitched blade stirrers
(see Table 4). In fact, stirring with 95 mm pitched blade stirrers
influenced the foam height only marginally if at all.
1024

FEi
C

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, I997

TABLE4B
Maximum Foam Free Broth Weight (foam height < 0.5 cm) for
the 120 mm Rushton Turbine as a Function of Stirrer Speed,
Superficial Gas Velocity and Medium (The maximum foam free
broth mass was determined by extrapolation of the linear
relationship of foam against broth mass)
Maximum foam free broth mass (kg)
0.0065 m/s 0.0065 m/s 0.013 m / s
0.013 m/s
Medium
500rpm
800rpm
500rpm
800rpm
11.4
11.5
10.8
I
12.5
111

12.3
9.5
10

IV

8.8

I*

I1

11.7
10

10.7
8.4

>I I?
9.9

9
8.0
13.5
10.8
L-c*
11.5
+RT,20 as bottom stirrer, otherwise HB as bottom stirrer.

30 T

H3
e

hf = -1 4.98 * (1 0.26 / vL,~J

15
120 mm Rushton

10.8

9.0
9.9
8.7
12.6

h, = -16.59 * (1 - 0.28 / v L ~ J

%+

p++
+ +
++
f+
++ ;

+ +

k+++++
+
+

CORRELATION BETWEEN THE CALCULATED LIQUID VELOCITY

AND THE HEIGHT OF THE FOAM LAYER

For each measurement of the foam height, the liquid

velocity near the dispersion level was calculated according
to the model described in this paper (Equation (1) - (8)).
The foam height was then depicted as a function of the calculated liquid velocity vL,dlfor each set of stirrer configuration and medium, irrespective of the superficial gas velocity,
of the stirrer speed or of the broth mass. In Figure 5, the
foam height is given as a function of the calculated liquid
velocity near the dispersion level for the 95 mm dual
Rushton combination and for the 120 mm Rushton for the
L -camitine biotransformations. Although the foam heights
measured were rather different for these stirrers (see Figures 3
and 4), plotting them as a function of vL,dl results in strikingly similar pictures. Thus, the mechanistic model relating
the liquid velocity near the dispersion level to the foam
height appears adequate to describe foam disruption through
stirring. Above a calculated velocity of approximately
0.28 m / s practically no foam is present anymore (see Figure 5).
Note the outliers of one biotransfomtion (see also Figure 4).
A correlation in the form of a hyperbolic relationship
between the liquid velocity near the dispersion level (v&
and the foam height seems to be an adequate mathematical
description:

P ............................

hf=+-

(15)

vL,dl

Assume that the liquid velocity has a certain value vL,dr,o

above which the foam is practically absent, e.g. a value of
0.28 m / s as mentioned above for the Rushton turbine. In
principle this corresponds with the maximum foam free
broth mass (see Table 4) and can be considered as a boundary condition for Equation (15):
hr = 0 for v ~ ,=~ vL,dl,o
,

......................

(16)

Thus, Equation (15 ) can be rewritten as:

vL,dl,O

hf =a(l--

vL.dl

) .........................

(1 7)

05 mm Rushton

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
vwI [m/sl

Figure 5 - Foam height as a function of the calculated liquid

velocity for two 95 mm Rushton turbines (RT,, - RT94 as upper
stirrers and for one 120 mm Rushton turbine (RT,,,)as upper stirrer.
Data from all experiments, i.e. 500,600,700,800 rpm and 0.0065
and 0.013 m/s. Duplicate biotransformations. The Equation and the
line represent the correlation of the two parameters according to
Equation (1 7).

VL,dl,o was estimated graphically for each stirrer combination. a was determined by linear regression of the equation:

y = m,with hf = y and

z=(l-- vL,dl,O ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(18)

vL,dl

Outliers were rejected by graphical judgement and a was

determined according to the least square method with
Windows Excel 5.0. Foam heights at too low liquid velocities,
i.e. too high distances between dispersion level and upper
stirrer, were not used for regression, because foam was not
being disrupted anymore by stirring (foam regime 3). The
correlations according to Equation (1 8) for the sets of stirrer
speed and superficial gas velocity for each stirrer turned out
to be parallel lines (see the example in Figure 6). Still one
best fitting correlation for each stirrer configuration was formulated. The parameter values of the correlations are given
in Table 5. Note, that the R-squared values of the above linear
regression are low. The main reason for this is the formulation of one correlation for all experimental conditions for a
given stirrer configuration and medium despite the above
observation on the parallel lines. This shows that the presented mechanistic model is not 100% adequate to describe
the dynamic equilibrium of the foam as a function of stirring
only. This conclusion is consistent with the observation of
Lee et al. (1993), that the equilibrium is system dependent.
The correlations according to Equation (17) for the L camitine biotransformations are graphically represented in
Figure 7. Comparison of these correlationsshows in the first

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

1025

-PBD,a

- PBDla

-PBD,,,

- PBU,,

I.-

10

0.0

+
-0.5

0.5

0.0
2

Figure 6 - Graphical presentation of Equation (18) for the

120 mm Rushton turbine as upper stirrer and the hollow blade as
bottom stirrer in medium I with 4 parameter sets. For symbols see
Figure 3.

TABLE5
Correlation Coefficients for Equation (1 7) for the Stirrer
Configurations and Media Tested, and the Corresponding
R-Squared Values
Configuration
Medium 01 [cm] v ~ , [~d,s,] ~ R-squared
I

I1
I
L-c
I
I***
I1
Ill

IV

-7.80
-1 1.92
-5.23
-16.59
-12.40
-10.75
-13.32
-97.69
-27.83
-14.98
(-0.4 I)*
(-1.63)*
-5.55
-3.43
-41.24
-3.21
-5.94
-3.84
-6.09
4.45
-29.48

L-C***
I
I
I
I
L-C
I
L-C
I
II**
I
L-C
*no v ~ , for
~ , these
, ~ stirrer configurations.
**800 rpm only.
***RT,20 as bottom stirrer.

0.16
0.15
0.18
0.28
0.20
0.2 1
0.20
0.20
0.2 1
0.26
(2.0)*
(1 .O)*
0.72
-0.75
0.85
0.75
2.20
0.55
0.44
0.60
0.58

0.72
0.52
0.73
0.38
0.28
0.53
0.12
0.84
0.23
0.20
(0.70)*
(0.06)*
0.52
0.35
0.55
0.59
0.40
0.38
0.37
0.04
0.76

~~

place that the relationship between the calculated velocity

v ~ and
, ~ the
, foam height depends on the type of the stirrer
(see Figure 7). Assuming that the medium properties in all
biotransformations were more or less the same, this means
that the simplified flow model presented in this paper does
not describe the differences between stirrers in flow characteristics, which are relevant for SAFD, adequately. For
example, the entrained flow is stirrer type dependent (Joshi
et al., 1982) and explains at least partly why the parameters
of the correlations according to Equation (17) are stirrer
type dependent. The entrained flow of a Rushton turbine is
largest and almost equal to the pumping capacity calculated
with Equation (3) (Joshi et al., 1982). However, taking the
entrained flow into account would still give a dependency of
1026

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

VLdl

-1 .o

HF - HF

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

2.0

[dsl

Figure 7 - Graphical presentation of the correlations of Table 5

for the biotransfonnation experiments with the 5 stirrers configurations tested (see table 2).

the correlations according to Equation (17) on the stirrer

type (data not shown). The uneven distribution of the flow
is also stirrer type dependent (Joshi et al., 1982) and contributes to the stirrer type dependency of the parameters of
Equation (17).
The correlations between foam height and liquid velocity
are practically the same for the Rushton turbines of 95 and
120 mm (see Figures 5 and 7). This means that the chosen
model, which describes the phenomenon of foam disruption
through stirring, is geometry independent! Because the correlations for the Rushtons are practically the same, the
model provides also an adequate explanation for the better
foam reducing properties of the 120mm Rushton as compared
to the 95 mm Rushton at equal power draw. For constant
power draw, it can be derived from Equation (9):

...............................
N oc P5I.3

(19)

Thus, from Equations (l), (3) and (19):

vL,d[a 04'3... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(20)

At constant power draw, the flow generated by the stirrer

is proportional to the stirrer diameter to the power 413. In
other words, the model shows that larger stirrers are more
effective for foam disruption.
The effect of the different media is largely in gas hold-up
and equilibrium foam height (see also below). Interestingly,
the range in which vLdl influences the foam height is practically independent of the medium for a given stirrer (see
Table 5). The correlations according to Equation (17) for all
media with the 120 mm Rushton turbine are graphically presented in Figure 8. The similarity of these correlations suggests that the presented model is also adequate for describing
the SAFD technique in different media, despite differences
in gas hold-up.
For design purposes, a minimum value of vL,drmust be
striven for in order to minimize foam. This means a small
distance between upper stirrer and dispersion level and a
large upper stirrer at low stirrer speed for a given power draw.
Comparison with Literature Data

Veljkovic et al. (1991) published experimental data on

gas entrainment from the head space in sparged agitated
vessels equipped with one Rushton turbine. Some data were
used in this paper to calculate a value of the liquid velocity

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

30

HB + RTei

I
25t

.g

IC

10

0
0.00

I!

a3

i
e

2(

medium

0.05

0.10

0.15
VLdl

0.20

0.25

0.30

[wd

Figure 8 - Graphical presentation of the correlations of Table 5

for all media tested with the 120 mm Rushton turbine as upper stirrer.
* 120mm Rushton as bottom stirrer, otherwise hollow blade as bottom
stirrer.

0.25

CI

HB + RTIS

9
0.20

TABLE6
Calculation of vL,dl,sfrom Data on Gas Entrainment from
Veljkovic et al. (1991) for Rushton Turbines
T
(m)
0.2
. _

0.3
0.3
0.45

hU

(m)
0.0667
0.1
0.1
0.15

(m)
0.133
0.2
0.2
0.3

(h)(rps)
NS

0.004
0.0002
0.0015
0.0006

21
7
11.5
6.67

'$'u

eshmate
1
1
1
1

0.15

vL.dl.S

0.10

(ds)

0.113
0.056
0.092
0.08 1

TABLE7
Gas Hold-up for 10 kg Broth Weight and vZg= 0.013 d s for the
Stirrer Configurations and Media Tested
&G at
&c at
Configuration
Medium
500 rpm
800 rpm
0.20
0.18
bottom stirrer (HB)
I
0.27
1
0.22
0.36
I1
0.28
0.29
0.23
I
0.23
0.17
L-C
0.3 1
0.26
I
0.28
I*
0.32
0.33
0.37
0.29
0.34
0.34
0.40
> 0.20
> 0.22
0.19
0.23
0.20
0.25
0.20
0.25
0.22
0.27
0.15
0.23
0.22
0.25
0.15
0.19
0.22
0.25
HF
I
I1
0.29
0.35
HF-HF
I
0.24
0.28
L-C
0.18
0.23
*RT,20 as bottom stirrer.
~

&

HB
0.25

CI

4
3c 0.20
I
cn
0.15

~~

near the dispersion surface, VL,dl,s,which marks the onset of

gas entrainment under sparged conditions. Table 6 shows
that the order of magnitude for vt,dl,s is similar to vL,dr
required for foam disruption with Rushton turbines, but
lower (compare with Figure 5). From the data of Veljkovic
et al. (199 1) it can be derived that the gas entrainment was

0.10

10

11

12

13

14

broth mass Fg]

Figure 9 -Gas hold-up as a function of broth mass, stirrer speed

and superficial gas velocity for the hollow blade stirrer (HB) as
bottom stirrer and for the hollow blade in combination with one
95 mm Rushton turbine as upper stirrer (HB + RT95). Foam height
as a function of broth mass, stirrer speed and superficial gas velocity for this combination. Duplicate experiments with medium I .
For symbols see Figure 3.

high at N = 2Ns, i.e. vL,dl= 2vL,dl,, for constant gas hold-up.

This doubling results in values of vL,d/ which compare well
with those calculated for Rushton turbines in this paper.
Note, that the vessel geometry used by Veljkovic et al.
(1991) was quite different from the geometries used here
(compare Tables 1 and 6).
GASHOLD-UP

The target of SAFD is foam disruption through stimng,

thereby enlarging the working volume of the bioreactor.
However, faster stirring results in a higher gas hold-up
(Whitton and Nienow, 1993). If gas a n d o r foam entrainment occurs, this would lead to an even higher gas hold-up
(Veljkovic et al., 1991). But a high gas hold-up results in a
low working volume, i.e. maximum broth mass, of the bioreactor. Therefore, the effects of stirring and stirrer configuration
on gas hold-up were evaluated during the SAFD studies.

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

I027

Increasing the stirrer speed resulted in an increase in gas

hold-up (see Table 7). When the hollow blade was used as
the only (bottom) stirrer in Medium I, the gas hold-up was
lowest (see Table 7). Adding more stirrers gave an increase
in gas hold-up, which may not be explained by the increased
power input alone (see below). However, this increase was
disproportionally large for low broth mass, i.e. in the range
of broth mass in which SAFD works (see Figure 9). For all
multiple stirrer configurations, the disproportional increase
in gas hold-up occurred with decreasing broth mass, i.e.
with decreasing distance between dispersion level and upper
stirrer. This finding is consistent with reports on gas entrainment (Hsu and Chang, 1995). Therefore, gas entrainment
(foam entrainment) from the head space must have occurred
during the experiments reported in this paper.
General correlations found in literature on gas hold-up,
such as:
EG oc

,P v%y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (21)
*

with p = 0.33 and y = 0.67 (Whitton and Nienow, 1993) did

not seem to apply (data not shown). Matsumura et al. (1978)
have shown that for systems with high stirrer speeds and
with gas entrainment, quite different values for the coefficients p and y in the correlation should be used and that vsg
in Equation (21) should be corrected for the entrained gas.
Another reason for the lack of fit of Equation (21) might be
that the estimated and not the measured specific power draw
was used in the correlations. For example, Hsu and Chang
(1995) found that the power draw for pitched blade stirrers
pumping downward drops dramatically when gas entrainment occurs.
In general, the biotransformation medium showed a 30 to
40% lower gas hold-up than the artificial media (see
Table 7). On the other hand, the equilibrium foam height
was 2 to 3 times higher in the biotransfomation as compared to the artificial media. Therefore, fiuther work on
developing artificial foaming media should be conducted.

Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Rob van der Lans from the Technical
University Delft for his suggestions and critical review of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Swiss Federal
Office for Education and Science and was carried out for the project Bioprocess scale-up strategy based on integration of microbial
physiology and fluid dynamics in the Biotechnology Research and
Technological Development Programme of the European Union.

Nomenclature
= vertical surface area of cylinder with diameter T/2 above
upper stirrer (m2 )
D
= stirrer diameter (m)
Fl, = gas flow number, Q,/ND3
= acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)
g
h
= height from the middle of the upper stirrer to the
dispersion surface (m)
= equilibrium foam height (m)
hf
L
= blade length (m)
m b = broth mass (kg)
N
= stirrer speed (s-)
= dimensionless pump capacity coefficient for stirrer
N,
discharge flow, defined by Equation (3)
P
= power draw of a stirrer (W)
Po
= power number (-)
Q , = gas flow (m3/s)
= discharge flow induced by stirrer (m3/s)
= diameter of bioreactor (m)
v ~ , ~= ,horizontal radial liquid velocity near the dispersion level
above upper stirrer at distance TI2 from axis calculated
from the discharge flow of the upper stirrer (m/s)
= superficial gas velocity ( d s )
= volume of liquid (m3)
vd
= dispersion volume (L)
V,
= bioreactor volume from bottom till top of upper stirrer (L)
W
= blade width (m)
x
= material thickness of stirrer (m)
y
= correlation parameter, defined by Equation ( 1 8) (m)
z
= correlation parameter, defined by Equation ( 18) (-)
A,

fL

Conclusions
Through stirring, reduction of the height of the foam layer
on low viscous broths can be achieved. This has been
demonstrated using an actual biotransformation process and
artificial foaming media. A simple mechanistic model for
calculating the liquid velocity near the dispersion surface
related to stirring and correlating this velocity to the foam
height has been presented in this study. This model for stirring as a foam disruption, SAFD,technique does not account
for the complex flow patterns which are stirrer type dependent. Consequently, the correlation between liquid velocity
and foam height is stirrer type dependent. But for Rushton
turbines with different diameters similar correlations, more
or less independent of the medium were obtained, suggesting the independence of geometry of the model.
The recommendations from this work for reducing the
height of the foam layer on production scale are, in general:
1) Reduce the superficial gas velocity by raising the head
pressure andor reducing the air flow.
Apply the SAFD technique:
2) Raise the stirrers or lower the broth mass.
3) For a given size of the stirrer motor and thus power draw,
reduce the stirrer speed and increase the (upper) stirrer
diameter.
1028

4) For a given stirrer configuration, stir as fast as possible,

but check the gas hold-up.
5) Retrofit the bioreactor with another stirrer configuration.
From the stirrers tested here, the hydrofoil Lightnin A315
had the best foam reducing capacity per unit power draw.
Although not tested, the strong parallels with gas entrainment suggest other measures such as reducing the baMe
number, the baffle height or the baMe width to enhance
foam entrainment (compare with Tanaka and Izumi, 1987).

Greek letters
a
/3
y
E,
,&
,,

= correlation coefficient (m)

= correlation coefficient ( d s ) in Equation (1 5), (-) in
Equation (21)
= correlation coefficient (-)
= gas hold-up calculated from ( Vd - rnh/p)/Vd(-)

= specific power input (Wkg)

= surface tension (Nlm)

= density (kg/m3)

Subscripts and superscripts

0

= minimum velocity above which value hf = 0

95
120

= diameter of stirrer: 95 mm
= diameter of stirrer: 120 mm
= gassed conditions
= minimal parameter value for the onset of gas entrainment
= ungassed conditions

g
S
u

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLUME 75, DECEMBER, 1997

Abbreviations
HB
HF

= hollow blade, type Chemineer CD-6,6 blades

= hydrofoil Lightnin A3 15,4 blades

L-C = experiments camed out during the biotransformation

PBD = 6-blade 45 pitched blade stirrer, pumping downward
PBU = 6-blade 45 pitched blade stirrer, pumping upward
RT = Rushton turbine, 6 blades
SAFD = Stirring As Foam Disruption (technique)

References
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Floating Solids in Aerated and Unaerated Stirred Vessels,
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Unaerated Power and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Prochem
Agitators, in Biotechnology Processes, C. S. Ho and J. Y.
Oldshue, Eds., AIChE, New York, (1987), pp. 116-127.
Bujalski, W., A. W. Nienow, S. Chatwin and M. Cooke, The
Dependency on Scale and Material Thickness of Power
Numbers of Different Impeller Types, in Proc. Eur. Conf. on
Mixing, Toulouse, France, (1 986a), pp. 1-37-1-46.
Bujalski, W., Ph.D Thesis, Three Phase Mixing: Studies of
Geometry, Viscosity and Scale, Univ. of Birmingham,
Birmingham, UK, ( I 986b).
Chiampo, F., R. Guglielmetti, L. Manna and R. Conti, Gas-liquid
Mixing in a Multiple Impellers Stirred Vessel, in Proc. 7thEur.
Conf. on Mixing, Brugge, Belgium, Sept. 18-20 (1991), pp.
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Manuscript received July 10, 1996; revised manuscript received

September 22, 1997; accepted for publication October 3, 1997.

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