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Characterization of a pilot plant airlift tower loop bioreactor: II. Evaluation of global mixing properties of the gas phase during yeast cultivation
Author(s) -
Fröhlich S.,
Lotz M.,
Korte T.,
Lübbert A.,
Schügerl K.,
Seekamp M.
Publication year - 1991
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.260371003
Subject(s) - airlift , mixing (physics) , bioreactor , residence time distribution , tracer , environmental science , tower , pilot plant , chemistry , chromatography , nuclear engineering , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , mechanics , flow (mathematics) , physics , nuclear physics , engineering , civil engineering , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cultivated in a 4‐m 3 pilot plant airlift tower loop reactor with a draft tube in batch and continuous operations and for comparison in a laboratory airlift tower loop reactor of 0.08 m 3 volume. The reactors were characterized during and after the cultivation by measuring the distributions of the residence times of the gas phase with pseudostochastic tracer signals and mass spectrometer and by evaluating the mixing in the liquid phase with a pulse‐shaped volatile tracer signal and mass spectrometer as a detector. The mean residence times and the intensities of the axial mixing in the riser and downcomer, the circulation times of the gas phase, and the fraction of the recirculated gas phase were evaluated and compared.