Fermentr Design
Fermentr Design
Fermentr Design
Overview
(1) Basic design criteria and limitations (2) Stirred Tank Reactor (STR)
Biotechnological processing
Types of Fermentation
Process Design
Fermenter Design
Performance
Optimisation
Construction
Configuration
Control
What is a Fermenter?
Vessel or tank in which whole cells or cell-free enzymes transform raw materials into biochemical products and/or less undesirable by-products
Also termed a Bioreactor
Fermentation System
we will concentrate on fermenters used in traditional microbial, plant and animal cell culture
However with the advent of recombinant DNA technology alternate systems for producing specific cell products are now available
Fermenters range from simple stirred tanks to complex integrated systems involving varying levels of computer input.
Fermenter design involves cooperation in Microbiology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Economics There are 3 groups of bioreactor currently used for industrial production; - non-stirred, non-aerated (Beer and wine) - non-stirred, aerated (Biomass, eg Pruteen) - stirred, aerated (Antibiotics)
Fermenter construction
All materials must be corrosion resistant to prevent trace metal contamination of the process Materials must be non-toxic so that slight dissolution of the material or components does not inhibit culture growth Materials of the fermenter must withstand repeated sterilization with high pressure steam Fermenter stirrer system and entry ports be sufficiently robust not to be deformed under mechanical stress Visual inspection of the medium and culture is advantageous, transparent materials should be used
The liquid phase contains dissolved nutrients, dissolved substrates and dissolved metabolites. The solid phase consists of individual cells, pellets, insoluble substrates, or precipitated metabolic products. The gaseous phase provides a reservoir for oxygen supply and for CO2 removal.
Parameters such as temperature of pH must be controlled, and the culture volume must be well mixed.
Therefore a need for control exists
Conclusion
This lecture introduced the various parameters involved in design of an industrial fermenter.
Using a STR it illustrated the optimisation and control of a fermentation system.