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Low‐pressure airlift fermenter for single cell protein production: I. Design and oxygen transfer studies
Author(s) -
Chen N. Y.,
Kondis E. F.,
Srinivasan S.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260290403
Subject(s) - industrial fermentation , airlift , bioreactor , air preheater , heat exchanger , gas compressor , process engineering , engineering , waste management , chemistry , fermentation , mechanical engineering , food science , organic chemistry
The energy consumption of a fermenter constitutes a major part of the operating expense of a single cell protein process. A low‐pressure airlift fermenter was designed to reduce this cost. In this new design, the fermenter broth is kept below 120 cm in depth, and air alone is employed to fulfill the need of supplying oxygen, and cooling and agitating the broth. The use of low‐pressure air from air blowers instead of air compressors lowers the capital cost of air delivery and reduces the energy consumption in the fermenter section to below 1 kWh/kg protein, a saving of over 70% as compared to a conventional stirred tank fermenter. It also eliminates the investment of mechanical agitators, heat exchangers, and air compressors. Sulfite oxidation studies confirmed the design concepts.