bioreactor and its applications

BIOREACTOR
A bioreactor is a vessel in
which a chemical process is
carried out which involves
organisms or biochemically
active substances derived
from such organisms.

Aerobic bioreactor:
Need adequate
mixing and aeration.
Anaerobic bioreactor:
no need for sparging
or agitation.

The function of the bioreactor is to
provide a suitable environment in
which an organism can efficiently
produce a target product—the target
product might be
Cell biomass
Metabolite
Tranformed Product

 The performance of any
bioreactor depends on the
following key factors:
 Agitation rate
Oxygen transfer
Temperature
Foam production
pH

BIOREACTOR SHOULD HAVE
FOLLOWING QUALITIES
The vessel – capable of being
operated aseptically for a number
of days.
Adequate aeration and agitation –
meet requirements of micro-

Power consumption should be as low as
possible.
Temperature control and pH should be
provided.
Sampling facilities should be provided.
Evaporation losses from fermenter
should not be excessive.

Minimal use of labor in operation,
harvesting, cleaning and maintenance.
Should have internal smooth surfaces .
Containment involves prevention of
escape of viable cells from a fermenter or
downstream equipment.
 Aseptic operation involves protection
against contamination.

VESSEL:
In fermentation with strict aseptic requirements it is
important to select materials that can withstand
repeated steam sterilization cycles. Two basic types
of fermenters are used.
• On small scale it is possible to use glass and/or
stainless steel.
1. Glass vessel with a round or flat bottom and a top
flanged carrying plate.
• The large glass containers originally used were
borosilicate battery jars.
• They are sterilized by autoclaving.

VESSEL:
• Glass is useful because it gives smooth
surfaces, is nontoxic, corrosion proof and it
is easy to examine the interior of the vessel
• A glass cylinder with stainless-steel top and
bottom
plates
• Vessels with two stainless steel plates are also
used
• More expensive.
• Sterilized in situ.
• Pilot-scale and industrial scale – stainless steel

VESSEL:
•Aseptic seal – made between
glass and glass, glass and
metal or metal and metal joints
between bioreactor vessel and
a detachable top or base plate.

GLASS AND STAINLESS STEEL
FERMENTERS

TEMPERATURE CONTROL
• Adequate provision for temperature control effect design of vessel
body.
• Heat is produced by microbial activity and mechanical agitation. If
this heat is not ideal for particular manufacturing process then it may
be added to or removed from the system.
• Provision of heat – by placing the fermenter in thermostatically
controlled bath or by use of internal heating coils or by a silicone
heating jacket through which water is circulated
• Silicone jacket consists of double silicone rubber mats wrapped
around the vessel with heating wires between the two mats.
• Cooling surface/cooling water. With increase in size of fermenter,
silicone jackets are inadequate to remove heat produced by
fermentation process so internal coils are used and cold water is
circulated to achieve correct temperature.

Aeration
Aeration provide microorganisms
in submerged
culture with sufficient oxygen for
metabolic requirements.

Agitation
It is mixing or uniform
suspension of microbial cells in
homogeneous nutrient medium.
Mechanical agitation is required
in fungal and actinomycete
fermentations.

Structural components involved
in aeration and agitation
Agitator (impeller)
Baffles
Aeration system (sparger)

Agitator (impeller)
Achieve mixing objectives – bulk fluid
and gas-phase mixing, air dispersion,
oxygen transfer, heat transfer,
suspension of solid particles and
maintaining uniform environment
throughout vessel contents.

Baffles
Baffles incorporated into
agitated vessels of all sizes to
prevent vortex and to improve
aeration efficiency.
Metal strips roughly one-tenth
of vessel diameter and attached
radially to the wall.

Usually, four baffles are used,
but larger bioreactor may have 6
or 8 baffles.
Minimizes microbial growth on
bioreactor walls.
 Extra cooling coils may be
attached to baffles to improve
cooling.

AERATION SYSTEM (SPARGER)
• A sparger is defined as a device for
introducing air into liquid of fermenter
• Three basic types – porous sparger
-Orifice sparger – a perforated pipe
-Nozzle sparger – an open or partially
closed pipe
-Combined sparger-agitator may be used
in laboratory fermenters.

Feeding ports
Addition of inoculum,
nutrients and other
supplements.
Sampling ports to test.

Additions of acid/alkali –
silicone tubes pumped by
peristaltic pumps after aseptic
connection.
In larger bioreactor nutrition
reservoirs and associated piping-
integral parts – can be sterilized
with vessel.

Foam control
Foam is produced during most
microbial fermentations.
 Foaming may occur either due to
a medium component, e.g.,
protein present in the medium, or
due to some compound produced
by the microorganism. Proteins
are present in corn-steep liquor,
pharma media, peanut meal,
soybean meal, etc.

 Minimize foaming.
Excessive foaming – danger
that filters become wet resulting
in contamination.
Siphoning – loss of all or part
of contents of bioreactor.

APPLICATIONS
A bioreactor may also refer to a
device or system meant to
grow cells or tissues in the context
of cell culture.
These devices are being developed
for use in tissue engineering

The bioreactor is modular in
nature and carry out all the
processes of fermentation in a
single contained environment.
Bioreactor plays a core role in
bioprocess.
 Stirred tank bioreactors are
commonly used in fermentation

Due to simple technology and
higher yield solid state bioreactors
are widely used in industries.
Ethanol fermentation is done by
saccharomyces cerevisiae in
bioreactor.

Organic acids e.g. acetic acid
and butyric acid are formed in
bioreactor by the Eubacterium
limosum.
Thienamycine an antibiotic also
produced in bioreactor.
Glucomylase is produced by
Auerobasidium pullulans in

bioreactor and its applications

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked (8)

Similar to bioreactor and its applications (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

bioreactor and its applications