ADVANCED MATHEMATICS

Date: 11th April 2014

Present by:

finally develop a high yield PHB production

process.
Physical Problem Description:
This studied is related to the airlift bioreactor
described by ( Nikakhtari & Hill, Enhanced
Oxygen Mass Transfer in an External Loop
Airlift Bioreactor Using a Packed Bed, 2005).
This includes the main equations and
suppositions made by the authors.

LINEAR SECOND ORDER PDEs

Research Introduction:
DEVELOPMENT OF A PREDICTIVE
CONTROL SYSTEM BASED IN MODEL
OF A PROCESS OF FED-BATCH
REACTION
TO
INCREASE
THE
PERFORMANCE
OF
PHB
(POLYHIDROXYBUTIRATO)
PRODUCTION
USING
VIRTUAL
SENSORS AS CONTROL STRATEGY.
For developing a scale up process of
production of PHAs is necessary to know the
metabolic pathway and the environmental
conditions (pH, temperature, substrate and
Oxygen concentration, etc.) that must be
controlled in order to get a high yield of
production. Optimization plays an important
role here, because it let get high productivity
reducing costs, due this, is important develop
an advanced control system based in the
model of this particular process. There are
many research groups working in the optimal
way to have a better yield in the PHA
obtention,
one
of
them,
is
the
biotransformation group of the Universidad
de Antioquia, which is working in the
obtention of PHA by a microorganism called
Ralstonia Eutropa. The main problem is
related to establishing the right way of an
advanced control system in PHAs production
and trying to estimate the variability of the
system and avoiding the perturbations in it to

For the past 3 decades, airlift bioreactors have

been used both at research and industrial
scales for aqueous fermentation and
bioremediation purposes. Because oxygen has
low aqueous solubility and is in high demand
by exponentially growing microorganisms,
the oxygen mass transfer rate is an important
feature for aerobic fermentation and
bioremediation processes. The oxygen mass
transfer coefficient, KLa, is directly
proportional to the rate at which oxygen can
be transferred from the air phase to the
aqueous medium ( Meng, Hill, & Dalai,
2002).
Although considering the external loop airlift
bioreactor (ELAB) as a completely stirred
reactor is frequently used to predict oxygen
mass transfer coefficients, it is not accurate
for a larger ELAB, especially when there is a
low liquid circulation rate. Also, in some
studies
the
variation
of
gas-phase
concentration has been neglected throughout
the vessel. This can be a reasonable
assumption for oxygen mass transfer but not
for the mass transfer of volatile organic
hydrocarbons that may drop from high inlet
concentrations to near zero at the outlet of the
ELAB ( Nikakhtari & Hill, Hydrodynamic
and oxygen mass transfer in an external loop
airlift bioreactor with a packed bed, 2005).
Oxygen KLa values fall below 100 h-1 in
well-mixed bioreactors when pure water is

used as the aqueous phase, but mixing solutes

in the water can increase this value up to
1000 h-1. By using high aeration rates, KLa
values for oxygen in bubble columns and
loop bioreactors can reach similar values as
those reported for well-mixed tanks.
However, at aeration rates similar to those
used in well-mixed tanks, KLa values tend to
be an order of magnitude smaller in columns
compared to well-mixed bioreactors due to
poor mass transfer. Although several methods
have been reported to enhance oxygen mass
transfer rates in column reactors at low
aeration rates, in this case it is shown that
simply using a small amount of nylon
packing significantly increases the oxygen
mass transfer coefficient in an ELAB. A
dynamic model was used to determine mass
transfer coefficients and predict the dynamic
oxygen profiles throughout the vessel both
with and without the packed bed ( Nikakhtari
& Hill, Enhanced Oxygen Mass Transfer in
an External Loop Airlift Bioreactor Using a
Packed Bed, 2005).

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the

ELAB with packed bed. Specifications for the
experimental column are listed in Table 1.
Tap water is used as the continuous phase and
is deaerating using nitrogen gas. Then air, as
the
dispersed
phase,
should
be
instantaneously connected to the sparger and
entering the ELAB through the sparger. This
procedure is performed both with and without
packing installed in the riser section of the
ELAB.
MODEL:

Experimental Apparatus and Procedures:

Fig.1 Schematic of the external loop airlift

bioreactor.

An airlift loop reactor consists of three

segments, namely the riser, down-comer and
gasliquid separator. In order to simplify the
model, the gasliquid separator is first not
included to focus on the riser and downcomer. When the axial dispersion model is
applied to the riser and down-comer

respectively, the differential equations governing

the component balances of a substance flowing
through a column reactor by oxygen
concentrations in the liquid and gas phases

Fig.2 Schematic parts of the external loop

airlift bioreactor.
Dispersion Model: According to Ficks Law,
the rate of diffusion of a substance A is
proportional to the negative of the
concentration gradient of A.

J =D

c
x

Where for the diffusion phenomena in one

dimension is described by:
2

1 c c
=
D x x2

component A in fluid phase i as a function of

location and time for a packed or fluidized
bed , in both phases for a gas sparged liquid,
and for all phases in other similar systems,
may be done simply by considering a material
balance on a differential volume of the
system using the well-known Shell-Balance
technique referring to an element of fluid
phase. In such a treatment, each fluid phase
may be considered separately. The equation
for fluid phase i is, in word form,
(Rate of A in by dispersion)+(Rate of A in by
convection)=(Rate of A out by dispersion)+
(Rate of A out by Convection)+(Rate of
accumulation of A within the volume
element)-(Rate of mass transfer of A into
fluid phase i from another phase within the
volume element)-(Rate of introduction of A
into fluid phase i from a source within the
volume element).
The dispersion term represent the combined
effects of diffusion and dispersion due to
convective stirring caused by the relative
flows of fluid phase i and the packing or other
phase or by velocity gradients.
The sparger orifice diameter does not
significantly affect hydrodynamic parameters,
such as gas hold up and circulation time. The
equations
needed
to
predict
the
hydrodynamics of this ELAB Gas holdup
relationships are:
Without Packing:

The diffusion phenomena in two dimensions

taking in account the dynamic stage:
2

c 1 c 1 c
+
=
z2 z z D t
Deriving the applicable differential equation
for describing the concentration of some

With

GR=1.06 J GR 0.701 (1)

Packing:

GR= (2.75+ 0.272hp+ 4.03 S ) J GR

0.701

(2)
These equations are obtained over a range of
packing heights of 0.05-0.8 m, porosities of
0.90-0.99, and gas superficial velocities of

0.003-0.016 m/s. To determine the liquid

velocity in the riser section

U LR=C F E (3)
Where E is the gas holdup driving force for
liquid circulation, given by

E=

GR
AR 2
( 1GR ) ( A )
D
2

0.92

(4)

And CF is the friction resistance for liquid

flow, given by

Without Packing C F =19.1 (5)

With Packing

C F =54.37.53 hp+71.4 S

(6)

The axial mixing in the ELAB is evaluated by

the Bodenstein number:

B 0=U LR L/ D

(7)

The Bodenstein number in an ELAB without

packing is 47 in and 42.6 for a porosity value
of 0.963.
Considering oxygen mass transfer between
the air and liquid phases, two partial
differential equations can be written to
predict oxygen concentrations over time and
position in these phases:
2

c
c
c
=D 2 U LR + K L ( c c ) (8)
t
z
z
1GR
y
y
( c c ) (9)
=U LR
+ K L
t
z
GR

ASSUMPTIONS:
There are some assumptions in writing these
equations. Operating conditions such as gas
flow rate and liquid volume are constant;
therefore, gas holdup, gas and liquid
velocities, and liquid dispersion remain
constant and can be determined by the
hydrodynamic eqs 1-7.
Flow and dispersion in the radial and angular
directions are assumed to be negligible and
the gas phase flows in a plug flow pattern.
Also the variation of gas velocity as a result
of oxygen mass transfer and hydrostatic
pressure has been ignored, which is
reasonable in a relatively small ELAB for low
soluble oxygen. For oxygen transfer from air
to water, the liquid-phase limits the mass
transfer rate. The oxygen concentration in the
liquid phase at the air interface (c*) is related
to the bulk air phase oxygen concentration
according to Henrys law:

y=Hc

(10)

Equations 8 and 9 are linear partial

differential equations and can be solved
simultaneously
by
numerical
finite
differencing. Because, at low aeration rates,
there is no air bubbles in the downcomer,
mass transfer only occurs in the riser section.
The riser can be divided into N finite
difference elements, and the downcomer is
assumed to be a plug flow column for liquid,
as shown in Figure 2.

V G=K L t

1 GR
(17)
GR

These equations are applied from n > 1 to N

over space and from t > 0 to t final over time.
Two boundary conditions for the liquid phase,
one for the gas phase, and one initial
condition for each phase are required.
BOOUNDARY CONDITIONS:
1. The boundary and initial conditions
for the gas phase are simply:
Fig.3 Schematic ELAB showing the Finite
Difference Sections.
Using backward differencing for both time
and space dimensions and substitution of c*
from eq 10, gives the following algebraic
equations:

y t0= y ( 18 )
0

y n= y ( 19 )

2. The initial condition for the liquid

phase
is the dissolved oxygen
t 1
t
t 1
t1
t 1 E L y n
concentration
c n=( A L + B L ) c n1 + ( 12 A L E L ) c n + ( A L B L ) cn +1+
(11) after dearation:

0
n

c =cmin (20)

y tn=2 B G y t1
n1+ 12 BG

V G t 1
y +V G ctn1
H n

3. The first boundary condition for the

liquid occurs at the inlet of the riser,
where it is mixed with the
downcomer liquid. The concentration
of oxygen in the downcomer is the
same as the riser outlet after a time
lag given by the residence time in the
downcomer:

(12)
Where;

A L=

Dt
(13)
( z )2

c t1=( A L + B L ) c t1 + ( 12 A L E L ) c t11 + ( A L B L ) c t1
2

U t
B L = LR (14)
(2 z)

B G=

U GR t
(15)
z

E L=K L t (16)

Where cIN is the oxygen concentration in the

outlet liquid from the downcomer:

c t =c min t< t delay (22)

t

ttdelay

c =c

t>t delay (23)

Where;

t delay=

HD
( 24 )
J LD

J LD =

J LR A R
( 25)
AD

4. The second boundary condition for

liquid phase is at the top of the riser.
Here there is no change in the oxygen
concentration, as the liquid exits the
riser:

The Model must be adjusted to reality or

changes in the dimensions of the ELAB. It is
expected get good approximations in the
partials differential equations that allow get
the most realistic behavior of the Oxygen
Diffusion in order to get the major
distribution of oxygen in the medium and due
this get a high yield of the PHB production.
Are pretty important analyses the stability of
the parabolic differential equation, because
due to this, we can get bad data or not a good
model results.
REFERENCES

t1
t
t 1
t 1 E L y N
c N =( A L + B L ) c N1 + ( 1 A L E LB L ) c N Meng,
+
( 26)
H A. X., Hill, G. A., & Dalai, A. K.

Equation 8 is a parabolic equation and for

stability purposes, all coefficients in eq 11
needs to be equal to or greater than zero,
which results in the following limit:

D t
0.5(27)
( z )2

CONCLUSIONS
A mathematical model considering an ELAB
as a distributed column with respect to both
the liquid and gas phases should be
developing to predict mass transfer of oxygen
with respect to both time and space. The
model must be compare experimental oxygen
transfer data and determinate the KLa for
ELABs with low liquid circulation rates, as
compared to a completely stirred reactor. The
model should correctly predicted wavy
oxygen concentrations in the liquid phase and
small oxygen losses in the air phase.

(2002). Hydrodynamic
Characteristics in an External
Loop Airlift Bioreactor
Containing a Spinning
Sparger and a Packed Bed.
Ind. Eng. Chem., 41, 21242128.

Nikakhtari, H., & Hill, G. A. (2005).

Hydrodynamic and oxygen
mass transfer in an external
loop airlift bioreactor with a
packed bed. Biochemical
Engineering Journal, 27, 138
145.
Nikakhtari, H., & Hill, G. A. (2005).
Enhanced Oxygen Mass
Transfer in an External Loop
Airlift Bioreactor Using a
Packed Bed. Ind. Eng. Chem.,
44, 1067-1072.