Design of a fermenter

Basic function of fermenter

• To provide a controlled environment for the
growth of cell or microorganism to obtain a
desired product
 Point to be consider
1. Aseptic operation for long period
2. No violation of containment regulations
3. Adequate aeration and agitation
4. Power consumption should be low
5. Temperature control
6. pH control
7. Sampling facilities
8. Control on evaporation losses
9. Minimum labour requirement
10.Smooth interfacial surfaces
11.Cheapest material
Geometrical ratio of fermenters with single multi blade impellers
Body construction
• In fermentation with strict
aseptic requirements it is
important to select
materials that can
withstand repeated steam
sterilization cycles. With top and bottom plates
• Lab scale:-Glass vessels
are smooth surface, non
toxic, corrosion proof,
transparent easy to
examine the interior
• Pilot scale and industrial
scale vessels are normally
constructed of SS.

With top flange carrying plate

• <4% chromium are steel alloys,<4% is SS
• Mild steel coated with glass or phenolic epoxy
• Mild steel vessels for penicillin production
• Mild steel clad with stainless steel for acetone –butanol production
• The corrosion resistance of SS is depend on the existence of a thin
hydrous oxide film on the surface of the metal. The film is stabilized
by chromium & is considered to be continuous, non porous,
insoluble and self healing.
• Increasing the Cr content enhances resistance to corrosion.
• Corrosion resistance can also be improved by nickel, molybdenum,
tungsten , silicon, etc.
• Aseptic seals:-
– With glass & metal, compressible gasket, a lip seal or O ring
– With metal metal joint ring
– Nitryl or butyl rubbers are used
 Temperature control
• Should have provision for temperature control
• Heat produced from microbial activity and
mechanical agitation
• If process is non ideal ,add or remove heat
• For lab scale heat is to be added by means of
thermostatically controlled bath,internal
heating coils,or jackets
Estimation of heating/cooling requirements

When designing a large fermenter, the operating temperature and flow

conditions will determine Qevap and Q sen ,the choice of agitator its
speed and the aeration rate will determine Qag and the sparger design
and aeration rate will determine Qgas
The cooling requirements (jackets and or pipes)
I f on side of wall the is at a constant temperature ,as is often the case in a stirred
fermenter, and the coolant temperature rises in the direction of the coolant flow
along a cooling coil, an arithmetic mean is

If the fluid are in counter or co current flow

and the temperature varies in both fluids then
log mean temperature difference is
 Aeration And agitation
• Aeration is to provide microorganisms in submerged
culture with sufficient oxygen for metabolic
requirements.
• Agitation ensure that a uniform suspension of
microbial cells is achieved in a homogeneous nutrient
medium.
• Aeration And agitation components are:-
– the agitator,
– Stirrer glands and bearing,
– Baffels and sparger
 Agitators

(a)Disc turbine
(b) Vaned disc
(c) Open turbine (a) Scaba agitator
(d) Marine propeller (b) Lightnin agitator
(c) Prochem maxflo T agitator
 Baffles

• To prevent vortex
• Improve aeration efficiency
• Metal strips ,1/10 of vessel dia.
• Attach radially to the wall
 Sparger
• Device for introducing air in to the liquid in a
fermenter.
• Types
– Porous sparger
– Orifice sparger
– Nozzle sparger
 Oxygen requirements of Industrial
fermentations
• Majority of fermentation are aerobic
• Oxidation of glucose
• 192 grams of O2 required for the complete oxidation of 180
grams of glucose.
• O2 is approx. 6000 times less soluble in water than is glucose
• O2 demand is satisfied by aeration and agitation
• Productivity depends on oxygen supply
 Oxygen supply
• Air is a source of O2
• Transfer of O2 from air to the cell occurring in
number of steps
i. From air bubble into the solution
ii. Dissolved O2 through the medium to the cell
iii. Uptake of dissolved O2 by the cell
 Volumetric mass flow rate,KLa
• Sum of the reciprocals of the resistances to
the transfer of oxygen from gas to liquid
• Used as a measure of aeration capacity
• Its depend on design and operating
parameters
• Affected by aeration rate, agitation rate and
impeller design
•
 Determination of KLa
• To establish aeration efficiency
• To quantify the effect of operating variables on the
provision of O2
• Three Methods
1. The sulphite oxidation technique

2. Gassing out technique

3. Oxygen balance technique
The sulphite oxidation technique
 Gassing out technique

IStatic Gassing Out Method (Unsteady State)

 
• In the absence of respiring organism (no O2 consumption)

• Sparge vessel contents with N2, displacing O2

• Monitor variation in dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) using a (polarographic) DO probe

• Allow DO to fall to 0% saturation, then turn off N2 flow

• Sparge vessel contents with air at a known flowrate

• Monitor and record variation of DO concentration with respect to time.

• plot of ln (C*-CL) vs t should result in a straight line of slope kLa
Dynamic Gassing Out Method
Oxygen balance technique
 Factors affecting KLa values
• Air flow
• Agitation
• medium rheology
• Microbial biomass
Balance between oxygen supply and demand
baffels
 The aeration system
• Porous sparger
• Orifice sparger
• Nozzle sparger
• Combined sparger-agitator
Scale up