Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering

Bioreactors
While bioreactor is a general term for any reactor that uses a biological process cata-
lyzed by microbes to produce a desired product, the term typically refers to biological
applications of continuous stirred tank reactors or chemostats, plug flow reactors, or
fixed film reactors. For more information on these types of reactors please refer to the
CSTR PFR or FFR pages of the encyclopedia. A fermenter, often used to convert sugars to
acids or alcohols, is the most common type of bioreactor due to its simplicity.

(Copyright GEA Process Engineering Inc., Columbia, MD)

Fermenters
The fundamental function of a fermenter is to provide a suitable environment in which
microorganisms can efficiently produce target products such as ethanol through the
metabolization of sugars by yeast.
(Copyright JVNW, Canby, OR)

General Information

Fermenters can be run in either batch or continuous modes, depending on the applica-
tion, and can be agitated either mechanically , with an impeller, or pneumatically , using
injected gas or fluid. Some of the most common types of fermenters are listed below.

• Airlift fermenters forego standard mechanical mixing systems for a stream of

gas injected into or outside of a riser tube at the bottom of the tank. The rising
action from the gas causes the contents of the tank to circulate around and
through the riser tube, thus mixing the system.
Diagram of a riser tube within an airlift fermenter

• Stirred tanks are the most basic fermenters, consisting of a vessel with a 3:1
aspect ratio and a mixing system that incorporates an impeller driven through
the base or top. The top also has ports for the addition of reactants, as well as
instrumentation.
• Tower fermenters are characterized by large height to diameter ratios,
upwards of 15:1, and aeration occurs by the introduction of gas streams at the
bottom of the tower
• Bubble columns are continuous tower fermenters. Gas is continuously sparged
in from the bottom and acts to agitate and react with the downward flowing
liquid stream
Equipment Design

A typical fermenter, as shown below, consists of a stainless steel housing containing an

impeller or agitator for uniform mixing of microorganisms and nutrients. Inlets are
located at the top of the body, a sparger is present at the bottom to introduce gas
streams into the liquid if needed, and probes measure and control various process
parameters. Often times a jacket will surround the body to allows process engineers to
facilitate heating or cooling of the slurry contained within.
Diagram of a typical stirred tank fermenter

Usage Examples

Fermenters are used in a variety of industries that require biological manufacturing,

such as the pharmaceutical and food industries. In the pharmaceutical industry they are
used to grow cells and bacteria for drugs such as antibiotics or penicillin. They can also
be used for alcoholic fermentation in breweries or even to grow yeast for bread-making.
( Pictures courtesy New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc. , Edison, NJ)

Advantages

Disadvantages

• Simple, inexpensive batch design

• Process parameters can be easily varied
• Can be used for a variety of biological reactions
• Agitation from aeration as cost-saving means
• Can operate at lower temperatures compared to reactors using non-biological
reagents and processes

• Long retention times

• Constant monitoring
• Difficult sampling
• As process parameters change with time, microbes can begin to produce
unwanted products
 • Contamination of microbes can ruin batches and result in large costs
• Higher mixing levels can damage microbes

Other Bioreactors
In addition to fermenters, some types of bioreactors use more complex processes to
achieve an efficient mixing to increase reactor conversion. These reactors rely on fluidi-
zation, membrane filtration, and the recycling of moving bed particles, among other
methods.

General Information

Chemical processes in bioreactors can be aerobic, anaerobic, or a hybrid of the two. Bio-
reactors typically involve the flowing of a liquid-phase through a medium containing
microbes that catalyze the process. These microbes are typically affixed to the surface of
particles such as granular activated carbon (GAC) or larger industrially-produced plastic
pieces. Later on, the media is filtered out and the liquid product is recovered . A signifi-
cant portion of operating costs goes toward controlling fouling, the unwanted buildup of
filtrate. Three of the most commonly used bioreactors are :

Fluidized Bed Reactors:

In fluidized bed reactors, gas or fluid is bubbled through a bed of biological media. This
action causes the bed to rise slightly and behave as a fluid. This allows for a longer
retention time of reactant in the bed, as well as better contact between reactants, and
therefore a higher conversion.

Membrane Bioreactor:

In membrane bioreactors (MBRs) a biological reaction occurs through the use of micro-
organisms and then a membrane is used to filter out the product based on molecular size
and weight. The microorganisms that carry out the biological reactions in MBRs degrade
the pollutants in the medium being filtered, which can generate significant levels of
organic matter that must be removed. . MBRs allow for the microbial flocs to be easily
separated from the aqueous phase and often removed in sedimentation columns. The
most common application of this process is in wastewater treatment, where the bioreac-
tor supports desired bacteria in flocculated forms known as activated sludge flocs. Such
flocs allow for microorganisms to convert biodegradable organic substances into carbon
dioxide and new biomass. This generated biomass is easily removed with membranes
before distribution of the treated water.

Membrane pore sizes can range from 0.01-0.4 µm. Over time the pores can be fouled,
which can raise costs due to constant cleaning. It has been shown that the proper
amount of aeration in the bioreactor can both lead to greater microorganism activity as
well as reduced propensity to membrane fouling.

( Dezotti, Marcia, et al., 2011)

When fouling occurs, physical cleaning is necessary. One such method is called relaxa-
tion, a process in which permeate flow is stopped for short periods while aeration is con-
tinued. The material that causes fouling is returned to the aqueous phase and removed
from the membrane surface. Relaxation is often used in conjunction with backwashing to
“clean” the membrane. While this method can reduce the amount of irreversible fouling,
the efficiency of relaxation and backwashing decreases over time. When a certain
amount of irreversible fouling occurs, the need for chemical cleaning becomes significant
for the membrane to remain functional.

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors:

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors, such as the one pictured below, allow carrier pieces, to
which biofilms are affixed, to flow as a bed along with the reactant fluid through the sys-
tem. As the carriers and liquid flow, the reaction occurs. The carriers are then filtered
out using a sieve at the exit and recycled back to the reactor entrance, seen in the picture
below.
(Copyright BioprocessH2O, Portsmouth, RI)

These reactors have several advantages as populations in industrialized areas grow and
the amount of wastewater increases. Biofilm reactors function better with high biomass
concentrations and achieve better removal of organic compounds. Additionally, these
biofilm reactors can be designed for more compact spaces and the moving biofilm does
not require traditional sludge recirculation for cleaning. Instead, the biomass growth
occurs on carriers that move freely inside the reactor tank and discourage blocking on
the biofilm. Moving bed biofilm reactors have significantly reduced head loss and thus
show higher volumetric treatment capacity.

Equipment Design

The design of bioreactors varies upon the type of bioreactor used but there are still com-
monalities between the different units. Commonly, gases are sparged in from the bottom
plate of a unit, and reactants flow in through the top. Often bioreactors will incorporate
some carrier, such as those pictured below, that has microbes fixed to its surface and
acts as the site of the reaction. These carriers are often made from high density polyeth-
ylene, as it s density is very similar to water.
(Copyright PEWE LLC, Camas,WA)

Usage Examples

Bioreactors can be used to create biodiesel from algae. In the tubular algae bioreactor
shown below, algae within the tubes grow with the assistance of a light source and car-
bon dioxide inputs. Once enough algae has grown, it is scraped from the tube and used
for its natural oils.
(Copyright W2 Energy, Inc., Carson City, NV)

Advantages

Disadvantages

• Can be designed for many different processes

• Can operate at lower temperatures compared to reactors using non-biological
reagents and processes
• Continuous operation more feasible than in fermenters

• Require constant monitoring

• Difficult to pull samples
• More complex than fermenters thus more difficult to control
• Microbes can produce unwanted products as process parameters change

Acknowledgements
GEA Process Engineering Inc. , Columbia, MD
New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc. , Edison, NJ

W2 Energy, Inc. , Carson City, NV

Process Engineered Water Equipment LLC , Camas, WA

BioprocessH2O , Portsmouth RI

Mott Corp. Farmington, CT

References
Banz, Gregory. "Piloting Bioreactors for Agitation Scale-Up." Chemical Engineering Pro-
gress. 104.2 (Feb. 2008): 32-34. Print.

Daigger, Glenn T. Membrane Bioreactors. Alexandria, Virginia: Water Environment Fed-

eration, 2011.

Dezotti, Marcia, et al. “Advanced Biological Processes for Wastewater Treatment.” Uni-
versity of Michigan Library , Springer International Publishing, 2011.

McNeil, B. and Harvey, L. Practical Fermentation Technology. Chichester, England:

Wiley, 2008.

Stanbury, Peter F. Principles of Fermentation Technology . Tarrytown, New York, USA:

Elsevier Science inc. 1984.

Winkler, M. A. Chemical Engineering Problems in Biotechnology. Essex, England: Else-

vier Science inc. 1990.

Developers
Sam Catalano

Kelsey Kaplan

Thomas Plegue

Amani Ramli
Joel Holland