TYPES OF FERMENTERS

There are four types of fermenters:

1. Typical stirred aerated:
 CONSTRUCTION -Varying sizes made of steel or lined
 with copper, stainless steel, glass etc
 Head space- splashing, foaming and aeration
 Length- 3 to 4 times its breadth
 Impellers- driven by motor for agitation
 Baffles- prevents vortex formation
 Sparger – aeration
 Jacketed walls- for temperature control
 Autotitrater- detecting/ adjusting pH
 Inlet for anti-foam
 Drain at the bottom- sampling and harvesting
 Manhole at the top

ADVANTAGES:
1. Most popular
2. Used for antibiotic, beverages, vitamins etc

2. Tower fermenter

 For production of microbial biomass, their metabolites and for continuous

production of beverages.
 Elongated, non-mechanically stirred
 Height to diameter ratio = 10:1
 Aeration- through sintered or perforated plate at the base of column
 At the top a separator present to coalesce gas bubbles. There is a zone which helps
the yeast cell to settle and return to the main body of the tower and clear beer can
be obtained.
 There are three general air flow patterns-
 Low superficial gas velocities – 1 cm/sec (bubbly flow)
 Higher superficial gas velocities- 3 cm/sec …. (turbulent flow) with little back
mixing
 Still higher superficial gas velocities – > 5 cm/sec …. “slug flow with vigorous
back mixing"
ADVANTAGES

 Simple construction
 Inexpensive
 Absence of mechanical agitation

Disadvantages
 Variation in the viscosity of the fermentation broth leads to fluctuation in aeration
speed

3. Bubble cap fermenters

 Designed to allow utilization of gaseous nutrients (methane, ethane) which are
components of medium
 Fermenter consists of a series of horizontal plates. Each plate supports nutrient
medium without a carbon source
 The medium inoculated with required microorganism
 Each plate has short, vertical pipes that project just above the source of medium.
 This pipe is covered with an inverted cup like cap whose tower rim extends
beneath the surface of the nutrient medium.
 Hydrocarbon gas is introduced from the bottom of fermenter. It rises through
pipes of each plate and is bubbled into medium
 The gas that is not oxidized at one level is oxidized at next level
 Gas escaping to the top of the fermenter can be recycled to the bottom and
introduced again into the media

ADVANTAGE

 Allows utilization of gaseous nutrients which are the component of the medium

4. Air lift fermenter

 Creates rapid low shear movement only due to aeration.
 The liquid movement in the fermenter is initiated by injection of air at the foot of
the riser column.
 The driving force for circulation of the liquid medium in the vessel is produced by
the difference in the density between the liquid column in the riser (excess air
bubble in the medium and that in the down comer column)
 When the liquid is in rapid movement the air valve is opened on the down comer
column
 In the riser column the compressed air bubbles expand as they rise. Maintaining
the rapid movement of the liquid after the start up air has been turned off.
 Heat transfer is very efficient as the rapid movement of the liquid takes place over
the jacket cooling system.
 For more effective circulation of air the vessel should be tall
 Multiple air lift fermenter- three vessels in one designed by Bakker et al in 1993

ADVANTAGES
 Low energy requirement as agitation of medium is not due to impellers.
 Shearing affect on the cells is very less
 Very apt for fungal hyphae to be cultured