Specialized Bioreactors

Introduction
The term fermentation is derived from the
Latin verb fervere, to boil, which describes the
appearance of the action of yeast on extracts of
fruit or malted grain during the production of
alcoholic beverages.

Definitions of fermentation
Fermentation is the chemical transformation of organic
substances into simpler compounds by the action of enzymes,
which are produced by microorganisms such as molds,
yeasts, or bacteria.
According to Biochemist
Fermentation is an anaerobic process where energy is produced
without the participation of oxygen or other inorganic electron
acceptors. (life without air)
According to Microbiologist
Any process for the production of a product by the mass
culture of microorganisms.

History of fermentation
Ethanol fermentation was one of the first
chemical reactions observed by humans.
Pioneers in microbiology
Anthony Van Leeuwenhoek[1632-1723]
Made the earliest microscopes which
magnified up to 300X.
Discovered micro-organisms.

 Louis Pasteur(1822-1895)
Showed microbes caused fermentation & spoilage
Disproved spontaneous generation of microorganisms
Developed aseptic techniques

Robert Koch
Developed pure culture methods.
Established a sequence of experimental steps to show that a
specific m.o. causes a particular disease Kochs Postulates

What are bioreactors

Bioreactor is a vessel in which a chemical process is carried out which
involves organisms (mainly microbes-viruses or bacteria, fungi and yeasts
traditionally designated as Fermenters) or biochemically active substances
(enzymes, e.g.) derived from such organisms in opposite to fermenters
frequently considered as true bioreactors. This process can either be aerobic
or anaerobic.
OR
An apparatus, such as a large fermentation chamber, for growing organisms
such as bacteria or yeast that are used in the biotechnological production of
substances such as pharmaceuticals, antibodies, or vaccines, or for the
bioconversion of organic waste.
OR
A bioreactor may also refer to a device or system meant to grow cells or
tissues in the context of cell culture. Cell culture is the process by which cells
are grown under cultivated conditions (animal cells, plant cells, algae).

 The bioreactors environmental condition like gas

(oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) and liquid flow
rates, temperature, pH, concentration of substrate and
products, cells number and their composition (proteins
and nucleic acids), dissolved oxygen levels,, and
agitation speed (or circulation rate) need to be closely
and continuously monitored and controlled. In many
cases, strictly aseptic conditions have to be maintained.

Classification

On the basis of mode of operation

batch bioreactor
fed batch bioreactor
continuous bioreactor
On the basis of mode of flow of fluids
CSTR bioreactor (continuous flow stirred reactor-the content of the
bioreactor is ideally mixed)
bioreactor with piston flow
bioreactors with non- ideal flow of fluids
On the basis of a number of phases treated
homogeneous bioreactors
heterogeneous bioreactors

Airlift bioreactors
The term airlift reactor (ALR) covers a wide
range of gasliquid or gasliquidsolid pneumatic
contacting devices that are characterized by fluid
circulation in a defined cyclic pattern through
channels built specifically for this purpose.
The main difference between ALRs and bubble
columns (which are also pneumatically agitated)
lies in the type of fluid flow, which depends on
the geometry of the system.

Parts of airlift bioreactor

Riser. The gas is injected at the bottom of this section, and
the flow of gas and liquid is predominantly upward.
Downcomer. which is parallel to the riser, is connected to
the riser at the bottom and at the top
Base. The base does not significantly affect the overall
behavior of the reactor, but the design of this section can
influence gas holdup, liquid velocity, and solid phase flow
Gas separator This section at the top of the reactor
connects the riser to the downcomer, facilitating liquid
recirculation and gas disengagement

Airlift Bioreactor morphology

Airlift reactors can be divided into two main
types of reactors on the basis of their structure
Externalloop vessels
baffled (or internal-loop) vessels

External loop airlift Bioreactor

Extrernal loop airlift bioreactor has a air
sparged riser column physically separated
from the downcomer.
Internal loop airlift bioreactor

Applications
Airlift bioreactors are usedin
Mammalian cel cluture
Waste water treatments
To produce biopharma proteins from fragile cells.

Advantages
Ideal for shear sensitive mammalian and olant cell
cultures.
No mechanical agitation, thus low power
consumption and good aseptic environment
High oxygen transfer rates.
Disadvantages
Greater throughput and higher pressure is needed
no bubble breaker
Inefficient break of foam when foaming occurs.

Photo bioreactor
The prefix PHOTO particularly dscribes the bioreator
property to cultivate phototropic micro organisms or
organisms which grow on by utilizing light energy.
These organisms use the processs of photosynthesis to
buils their own biomass from light and CO 2.
Micro-algae are source of unique metabolites that can
be used to produce novel high-added value bioactive
compounds with industrial potential in medical
technologies or as food, feed or cosmetic ingredients
or as potential source of biofuels.

Types
Open pond photo bioreactors
The open pond photobioreactor is simply an open
body of water exposed to the environmental elements.
First aporach of open pond photobioreactro is the
controlled production of phototropic organisms by
susoension culture methods.
To maximize the amount of algae growth the open
pond photobioreactors re installed with agitators to
expose more lgae to sunlight.

 Closed system photobioreactor

Consist of a clear container with co2
bubbling through water containing
algae.
Provided with a artificial light
illuminated 24 hours a day. This is
another advantage over the open
pond photobioreactor.
types of closed system
photobioreactor
Tubular photobioreactor
Plate type photobioreactor

Tubular photobioreactor
Tubular photobioreactors are made
up of glass or plastic tubes oriented
horizontally or vertically.
Tpbr helps in production of healthy
growth of algal culture with very low
risk of contamination compared to
open ponds.
E.g., production of carotenoid
Astraxanthine from the green algae
Haematococcus pluvialis

Different forms of tubular photo bioreactors

Plate type photobioreactor[PTBR]

These are constructed using plastic or glass
plates
The plates with different technical designs are
mounted to form a small layer of culture
suspension, which provide optimised light
supply.

Working of photo bioreactor

Initially water, algal culture, co2, nutrients and other growth
necessities are fed into a feeding vessel.
From feeding vessel the flow progress to the diaphragm pump
which moderates the flow of the algae into the actual tube.co2
intake valve is also provided to facilitates photosynthesis.
the bioreactors are designed to have light and dark intervals
to enhance growth rate of algae.
Once the algae are ready to harvest, they are pass through the
filtering system, which filters the algae that are ready for
processing. while remaining algae passes back to the feeding
vessel, then flow continues.

Advantages
Cultivation of algae is in controlled circumstances,
hence potential for much higher productivity.
Space saving can be mounted vertically or
horizontally and indoor or outdoor.
Permits the production of complex biopharma
ceuticals.
Disadvantages
The technical difficulty in sterilizing these photo
bioreactors
Capital lose is very high

Tubular bioreactor
Tubular bioreactors havesimple construcstion and
possibility to prepare diffenrent inner configurations
by the use of standard industrial support materials
like pipes,pumps, standard settings etc.
Mixing in tubular bioreactors aremore uniform
campared to stirred tank bioreactor
Tubular systems are especially useful for production
of specialized chemicals.
Agitation may bemade possible by introducing
impellers connected to a common motor- driven
shaft.

 Advantages
Usually have simple construction.
Two microbes can be cultivated by creating two
compartments using semipermeable
membrane.suitable for continueous mode of
operation.
Disadvantages
It has realatively low oxygen supply
capacity,which makes it unsuitable for
construction of bioprocess with high oxygen
demand.

Membrane bioreactor
membrane bioreactor is the combination of a
membarene process like microfiltration or
ultrafiltaration with a suspended growth
bioreactor.
Usually used in conjugation with various other
separation process such as Revers osmosis and
ultrafiltration to provide a product stream
which is free of undesired contaminants.
The membarne used is either organic polymer
or cerramic materils with pore size 0.00030.01m

Membrane bioreactor configurations

1> internal/submerged membrane
bioreactor
The membareane areaimmersed in and are
integral to the bioractor.
It is installed in either main bioractor vessel or in
separate tank.

 External or side stream membrane

bioreactor
The membrane re a separate unit process reqiring
an intermediate pumping step
The filtration elements are installed externally to
the reactor.
The biomass is pumped directly thorough a
number of membrane modules in series and back
to the bioreactor

 Advantages
the advantages of using membrane
bioreactor system over other conventional
systems are
Better effluent quality.
Smaller space requirement
Ease of automation.
Disadvantages
Typically higher capital and operating cost
High energy consumption.