103_03_Heat Transfer In Bioprocess Measurement

Heat Transfer

Heat transfer can be defined as the process in which there is movement of thermal energies
between physical systems due to temperature difference. Heat transfer plays an important role
in bioprocessing. The fermentation broths are either heated to the desired temperatures or
maintained at a desired lower temperature by heating or cooling the fermenters, depending
upon whether the biochemical reaction is endothermic or exothermic. Normally in the design
and construction of a fermenter there must be adequate provision for temperature control
which will affect the design of the vessel body. The rate at which heat is transferred depends
directly on two variables: the temperature difference between the hot and cold bodies, and the
surface area available for heat exchange.

It is also influenced by many other factors, such as the geometry and physical properties of
the system and, if fluid is present, the flow conditions. Fluids are often heated or cooled in
bioprocessing. Heat exchange occurs most frequently between fluids. Equipment is provided
to allow transfer of heat while preventing the fluids from actually coming into contact with
each other. In most heat exchangers, heat is transferred through a solid metal wall which
separates the fluid streams. Heat transfer is facilitated by agitation and turbulent flow of the
fluids.

Equipment used for heat exchange in bioreactors

The fermenter may have an external jacket or coil through which steam or cooling water is
circulated. Alternatively, helical or baffle coils may be located internally. Another method is
to pump liquid from the reactor through a separate heat-exchange unit. The surface area
available for heat transfer is lower in the external jacket and coil designs. they are likely to be
inadequate for large-scale fermentations. Internal coils have relatively large heat transfer
area.

Types of heat exchangers

Double-pipe heat exchanger

It consists of two metal pipes, one inside the other. One fluid flows through the inner tube
while the other fluid flows in the annular space between the pipe walls. Hence, the hot fluid
becomes cooler and the cold fluid becomes warmer. It can be operated with counter current
or cocurrent flow of fluid. In counter current the fluid flows in opposite direction whereas in
cocurrent fluids flows in same direction.

Shell-&-tube heat exchanger

SINGLE-PASS SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

It is used for all type of fluids. It occupies large surface area. The heat transfer system is in
two sections :a tube bundle and a shell or cavity. Where one fluid flows into the shell and
other flows into the tube. The shell and tube fluids pass through the length of the equipment
only once. 

DOUBLE TUBE-PASS HEAT EXCHANGER

The flow of tube and shell fluids are countercurrent for one tube pass and cocurrent for other.
Due to the action of baffles cross flow of shell fluid normal to the tubes. Temperature cross
occurs where the temperature of the hot fluids equals to the temperature of the cold fluid.
This can be avoided by increasing the number of shell pass. So, heat exchangers with
multiple shell-pass can be used.

Mechanisms of Heat Transfer

• Conduction - Heat conduction occurs by transfer of vibrational energy between

molecules.Rate of heat conduction through wall is given by Fourier’s law,

Q = - k A dT/dy ,

where Q is rate of heat transfer, k is the thermal conductivity, A is surface area, T is

temperature, y is the distance measured.

• Convection - Occurs in gases and liquids.

• Radiation - When absorbed appears as heat.

Methods Of Measuring Process Variables

To carry out successful fermentation it is very important to measure various physical and
chemical parameters. Some special sensors have been developed to carry out measurements

in the bioreactors.

• Temperature

The temperature in a vessel or pipe is one of the most important parameters to monitor and
control in any process. It may be measured by mercury-in-glass thermometers, bimetallic
thermometers, pressure bulb thermometers, thermocouples, metal-resistance thermometers or
thermistors.

MERCURY-IN-GLASS THERMOMETERS

It is used in small bench fermenters but it is very fragile so its use is restricted. But when
mercury-in-glass thermometers are used in large for vendors it is necessary to insert them in
thermometer pocket invention, it also causes time lag. Therefore it is only used for indication
purpose and not for automatic control or recording.

ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE THERMOMETERS

This type of thermometer measures temperature by using electrical resistance. It is composed

of platinum measuring resistor. Even a small change in resistance there will be changes in the
temperature and hence it provides greater accuracy.

THERMISTORS

Thermistors are made from semiconductors mixtures of pure oxides of iron, nickel and other
metals. This type of thermometers are very cheap and also very stable.

• Flow measurement

GASES

Flow measurement in gases is mostly done by using Rotameter. It is very commonly used. It
consists of vertical mounted glass tube with an increasing bore and has a free moving float in
it. The position of the float in the tube indicates the flow rate. More the errors less is the flow
rate.

LIQUIDS

The flow measurement in liquid on a lab scale are done manually by using sterile burette.
Rotameters is also used. The electric flow transducer are also used but they are expensive.
There are cheaper methods also that used indirectly by load cells or metering pumps. The
metering pumps includes motorised syringe which is used for small quantities of liquid,
peristaltic pumps, piston pumps are more expensive than peristaltic pumps, diaphragm pumps
are often used to prevent leakage problem.

• Pressure measurement

Measuring pressure in bioprocess is very important parameter. It is mainly used for safety
purpose. It is also important in media sterilization. One of the standard pressure measuring
sensors is the Bourdon tube pressure gauge. Diaphragm gauge can be used when a vessel or
pipe is to be operated under aseptic conditions.

• Agitator shaft power

There are various sensors that can be used to measure power consumption of a fermenter. On
a large scale watt meter gives a fairly good indication of power uptake and for higher
accuracy Torsion dynamometer are used on a small scale application purpose.

• Rate of stirring

In all fermenters it is important to monitor the rate of rotation (in rpm) of the stirrer shaft. It is
measured by the using tachometer.

• Foam sensing

Foam sensing can cause difficulty in microbial fermentation process. Forming is caused due
to the excessive proteins that are present in the medium it also leads to autolysis. Adding
antifoam to the fermenter is the common practice that is done when the culture starts foaming
above certain level. There are number of mechanical entry form devices which include discs,
propeller, brushes, etc.

• Weight

The convenient method to measure the weight of the fermenter is by the use of load cells .
Changes of resistance with strain which are proportional to load are determined by
appropriate electrical apparatus. It is therefore possible to use appropriately sized load cells to
monitor feed rates from medium reservoirs, acid and base utilization for pH control and the
use of antifoam for foam control.
• Microbial biomass

The measurement of the microbial biomass is very important to carry out a fermentation. The

real time estimation of a cell component at constant concentration as nicotinamide adenine

dinucleotide (NAD), by fluorimetry. It is an indirect method for continuous measurement of
microbial biomass. Dielectric spectroscopy can be used on-line to monitor biomass.

• Dissolved oxygen

In most aerobic fermentations it is essential to ensure that the dissolved oxygen concentration
does not fall below a specified minimal level. The dissolved oxygen is measured by using
sterilizable oxygen electrodes. These electrodes measure partial pressure and not the
dissolved oxygen concentration. It is best to calibrate the electrode in percentage oxygen
saturation. In small fermenters, the commonest electrodes are galvanic. These electrodes are
therefore suitable for monitoring very slow changes in oxygen concentration and are
normally chosen because of their compact size and relatively low cost. Unfortunately, this
type of electrode is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations.

• Inlet and exit-gas analysis

It is very necessary to measure inlet and exit gas composition in fermentation process. The
oxygen concentration can be determined by a paramagnetic gas analyser. The analysers may
be of deflection or thermal type. Carbon dioxide is commonly monitored by infrared analysis
using a positive filtering method. It is expensive to have separate carbon dioxide and oxygen
analysers for each separate fermenter. Therefore it is possible to couple up group of
fermenters via multiplexer to single pair of gas analysers.

• pH

In batch culture the pH of an actively growing culture will not remain constant for very long.
pH measurement is routinely carried out using a combined glass reference electrode. The
electrodes may be silver/silver chloride with potassium chloride or special formulations as an
electrolyte. Occasionally calomel/mercury electrodes are used.

• Redox

It is a measure of the oxidation-reduction potential of a biological system. It can be

determined as a voltage (mV). The measuring electrode consists of gold, platinum or iridium
which is welded to a copper lead. It has good application for determining oxygen availability
in anaerobic processes.

• Carbon dioxide electrodes

The measurement of dissolved carbon dioxide is possible with an electrode, since a pH or

voltage change can be detected as the gas goes into solution. This system is extremely
sensitive to shifts in the pH element as one pH unit change represents a tenfold increase in
pCO2.

Reference
Stanbury, P. F., & Whitaker, A. (2010). Principles of Fermentation Technology. Oxford:
Pergamon Press.
Pauline M. Doran, (1995). Bioprocess Engineering Principles, Academic Press.