Pergamon Chemical Enomeerin# Science. Vol. 50, No. 13, pp.

2127-2136, 1995
Copyright ~, 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd
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0009-2509(95)00050-X

A C O M P A R A T I V E S T U D Y OF MASS TRANSFER IN YEAST

FOR A BATCH P U L S E D B A F F L E D BIOREACTOR A N D
A STIRRED T A N K F E R M E N T E R

X. NI* and S. GAO

Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde, James Weir Building,
75 Montrose Street, Glasgow GI IXJ, U.K.

R. H. C U M M I N G
Department of Chemical and BiotechnologicalScience, School of Science and Technology, University of
Teesside, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TSI 3BA, U.K.

and

D. W. PRITCHARD
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Science and Technology, University of Teesside,
Middlesbrough, Cleveland TSI 3BA, U.K.

(Received 1 July 1994; accepted in revised fi~rm 10 January 1995)

Akstract--We report experimental data of mass transfer of oxygen into yeast re-suspension and yeast
culture in a batch pulsed baffled bioreactor and a stirred tank (ST) fermenter. Air bubbles are sparged into
the bottom of both reactors and the kinetics of the liquid oxygen concentration followed using dissolved
oxygen probes together with the dynamic gassing-out technique for both systems. The kLa measurements
and correlation with power density calculations for yeast re-suspensionshow that the kLa data in the pulsed
baffled bioreactor are on average 75% higher than those obtained in the ST fermenter. Similar trends for
k~.a are also measured when yeast culture of different ages were used in the two systems.

INTRODUCTION (1981), Linek et al. (1982, 1987, 1992), Koizumi and

The majority of fermentation processes are aerobic
and therefore require the provision of oxygen, which
is normally supplied in the form of air. The rate of
oxygen transfer from air bubble to liquid phase can
.qenerally be described by
dC
- - = kLa(C* - C) - Q o , x (1)
dt
where C is the concentration of the dissolved oxygen
(g/I), C* is the saturated dissolved oxygen concentra-
tion (g/l), x is the concentration biomass (g/l), Qo~ is
the specific respiration rate (g/gh), and kLa is the
volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient ( h t ), which is
a function of aeration-agitation intensity and of the
physical and chemical properties of the fermenter in
question. As a result, the determination of kLa of
a fermenter or fermentation process is essential in
order to establish its aeration efficiency and to quan-
tify the effects of operating variables on the provision
of oxygen.
The measurements of oxygen mass transfer coeffi-
cient, kLa have been reported for many processes
in many devices and using different models, see
for example, Calderbank (1958), Blakebrough and
Sambamurthy (1966), Baird and Garstang (1967,
1972), Aiba et al. (1973), Linek and Vacek (1977),
Serieys et al. (1978), Van't Riet (1979), Ruchti et al.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
2127
Aiba (1984), Martinez et al. (1989), Nocentini (1990),
Singh et al. (1990) and Chang and Moris (1991). How-
ever, the reported measurements of oxygen mass
transfer in yeast culture were few in number. Taguchi
and Humphrey (1966) carried out mass transfer
measurements using a 24-h-old yeast culture in
a stirred tank (ST), their data were the earliest report
for this nature of experiments. Subsequently, Bandyo-
padhyay and Humphrey (1967) reported more kLa
data for both batch and continuous operation in
stirred tanks. Since then very little work of a similar
nature has been reported, although yeast culture has
been used widely as an intermediate medium for many
bio-processes (Aiba et al. 1973; E I-Temtamy et al.
1982; Fatile, 1985).
Enhancement of mass, transfer rate using pulsation
has been reported previously, Baird and Garstang
(1967) applied pulsation frequencies from 1.09 to
1.35 Hz and amplitudes up to 9.4 mm, to a 76 mm
diameter column packed with random rings of
12.5 mm and fitted with disk baffle plates; their experi-
ments have shown that pulsation gave a threefold
increase in the gas hold-up. Later they also measured
a threefold increase in mass transfer rate for high
frequency and amplitude oscillation (Baird and Gar-
stang, 1972). Bellhouse et al. (1973) have used oscilla-
tion in furrowed channels to enhance blood oxygena-
tion. Serieys et al. (1978) also reported that in a pulsed
column with perforated plates the gas hold-up was
2128
slightly higher than with a turbine agitated reactor,
but lower than with air-lift fermenters. However, the
oxygen transfer rate was much higher than those
published for any other technique. Beeton et al. (1991)
applied pulsation in a membrane, their results show at
least a fivefold enhancement on mass transfer as com-
pared with flat membranes. Mass transfer of oxygen
into water was reported for oscillatory flow in a
baffled tube (Hewgill et al., 1993), a sixfold increase in
kLa was measured as compared with those for
a bubble column. Recently, we have carried out ex-
periments to investigate the fluid mechanical condi-
tions and mass transfer of oxygen into yeast re-sus-
pensions in a pulsed baffled bioreactor where either
orifice, disc and mixed baffles may be present (Ni et
al., 1995), the results show a strong dependence of kLa
on oscillation frequency, amplitude and baffle config-
urations, and that the trends in kta measurements are
consistent with the fluid mechanics observed within
both the systems and previous work (Brunold et al.,
1989; Dickens et al., 1989; Macktey and Ni,
1991, 1993). In this paper we extend our mass transfer
study by carrying out kLa measurements in both
a pulsed baffled bioreactor and a commercially avail-
able ST fermenter using yeast culture of different
concentration/ages. Furthermore, we also carried out
kLa measurements in the ST fermenter using yeast
re-suspension and correlated the measurements with
power density calculations. The objective of this paper
is to present the kLa data from this comparative study
using both yeast re-suspension and yeast culture in
the two systems.
EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES AND PROCEDURES
The pulsed baffled bioreactor
A schematic diagram of the batch pulsed baffled
bioreactor is shown in Fig. 1.
I L
nitrogen su
air supply
-Ixl
I
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the pulsed baffled bioreactor.
X. N] et al.
The device consists of a Perspex column, of an
internal diameter 50 mm and 500 mm long. It has
a liquid capacity of 1 I. Baffles are made from 3 mm
thick PTFE. The baffle spacing was 75 mm (1.5 times
the tube diameter), a linear scale-up relationship is
assumed as this spacing was optimised by Brunold et
al. (1989) for effective mixing over a broad range of
oscillation amplitudes and frequencies in a 25 mm
diameter tube. For each set of experiments, there were
six baffles supported within the column using two
2 mm stainless steel rods. One end of the column is
flanged onto a stainless steel cylinder base where
a stainless steel piston resides. The piston is externally
driven by an electrical motor through a mechanical
gear box. The rotating speed of the motor is con-
trolled by a speed controller, which provides oscilla-
tion frequencies from 1 to 12 Hz to the system. Oscil-
lation amplitudes from 1 to 14 mm can be obtained by
adjusting a stopper on a sliding rod which is placed
between the shaft of the piston and the gear box.
Either air or nitrogen can be injected at the bottom of
the column through a ring sparger. The gas flow rate
is controlled by a valve and measured by a rotameter.
Unless stated the aeration rate was set to 0.5 vvm for
all the experiments. Flow visualisation was carried
out at the centre of the reactor, where a rectangular
flow visualization box was built around the reactor in
order to minimise the lens effect when filming.
The stirred tank fermentor
A 2-1itre ST fermenter from Bioengineering AG in
Switzerland (Model KLF 2000) was used for kLa
experiments using both yeast re-suspension and yeast
culture. In addition, a 30-1itre ST fermenter (Model
NLF22) from the same company was used for
a source of yeast cells only. The details of both fermen-
ters are shown in Table 1.
J IFlow visualizationbox
PHmeter
CEDI401 1, ~-~1i
DO meter
speed
controller
Ll
motor
 A comparative study of mass transfer in yeast
Table 1. Details of the ST fermenters
Details
Fermenter capacity
Operating volume
Fermenter diameter
Liquid height
Impeller type
Number of impellers
Impeller diameter
First impeller position from bottom
Second impeller position from bottom
Width of baffle
Number of baffles
Sparger type
Cell culture
The organism used was Bakery's yeast (Sacchar-
omyces cerevisiae). The culture medium consists of
40.0 g/l glucose, 1.0 g/l NH,,H2PO4, 0.4 gfl KH2PO4,
0.15g/l MgSO4, 0.1 g/1 sodium citrate and 1.0g/l
yeast extract. Yeast inoculum was prepared by trans-
fering a loop of stock culture to eight 250 ml shake
flasks containing nutrient medium and incubated at
28°C in an orbital shaker. After 18 h, flasks were
pooled to provide an inoculum. Two litres of the
inoculum containing a total of 80 g cells were used to
seed 18 1of medium in the 30-1itre fermenter. With this
high inoculum level, the time required for the cells to
produce measurable growth was about 4 h.
For yeast re-suspension experiments where growth
was not required, frozen bakery yeast was re-sus-
pended in a medium consisting of 2% sucrose and
0.1% yeast extract to give a 2% concentration of cells.
As the re-suspension not only possesses similar phys-
ical properties of yeast culture, but also has much
higher stability and repetition ability than the yeast
culture, and is easily obtainable, this allows us to
carry out separate kLa measurements in either a pul-
sed battled bioreactor or a ST fermenter, and deter-
mine the kLa profiles as functions of operational
conditions. This also makes this comparative study
possible.
Physical properties of broth
Temperatures within reactors were continuously
monitored during the course of each experiment. The
densities of both the yeast re-suspension and culture
were measured by a hydrometer, of 1007 and
1010 kg/m 3 respectively, which are similar to that of
water. The viscosity of both solutions were also meas-
ured using a CS5010 controlled stress rheometer from
Carri-Med, Dorking, UK. It shows that both solu-
tions displayed a Newtonian fluid behaviour where
the solution viscosity remained constant for the range
of shear rate applied. This viscosity measurements of
the yeast solutions used in the experiments are con-
sistent with work reported previously (EI-Temtamy et
al., 1982; Fatile, 1985). In addition, the dry cell con-
centration for yeast culture experiments was esti-
mated by placing a known volume of the yeast culture
2129
2-1itre ST 30-1itre ST
2.51 301
21 201
12 cm 24.3 cm
19.5 cm 37 cm
Disc turbine Disc turbine
2 2
4 cm 10 cm
7.5 cm 10.5 cm
14.5 cm 20.5 cm
1 cm 2.4 cm
4 4
3 mm single orifice Ring sparger
in an oven at 80°C overnight and calculating the dry
weight from the weight of cells per volume cell suspen-
sion.
Oxy#en probe
A P2-type dissolved oxygen (DO) probe and a 703P
polarographic oxygen meter from Uniprobe were
used to monitor the oxygen concentration in the pul-
sed baffled bioreactor, while an IL-type polarographic
DO probe from Ingold was used in the 2-1itre ST
fermenter. Such oxygen probes are membrane-
covered polarographic probes and the membrane
type is a reinforced PTFE/silicone composite with
automatic temperature compensation over a range
from 5 to 50°C. Both DO probes have relatively fast
response time, from the probe step response curves
the sensitivity (k) of the DO probe (s) and the dead-
time (r) of the electrode-parameters of the step re-
sponse of the electrode (s) can be determined, for
instance, for the P2-type DO probe, k = 0.1058 s
and z = 3.418s; while for the IL-type, k =
0.09364 s- 1 and ~ = 3.025 s. Although the response
characteristics of the two probes are very similar, we
felt, however, it is necessary to account for the probe
response for the accurate calculations of kLa in th
bioreactors, and later in kLa correlations for a given
power input and superficial gas velocity. In this con-
nection, the kLa data from both the pulsed baffled
bioreactor and the 2-1itre ST bioreactor have been
compensated for the probe response using methods
described by Koizumi and Aiba (1984). In brief, the
method introduces a transfer function to describe the
relationship between the "actual" output of the DO
probe (E = C/C*) and the "ideal" input of the elec-
trode (Ei = Ci/C *) as
! dE(t)
Ei(t - r) = E(t) + - - (2)
k dt
The details of the method can be seen in Koizumi and
Aiba (1984).
The DO probe in the pulsed baffled reactor was
located at a 45 ° angle to the column, as shown in
Fig. 1, this eliminates the sticking of air bubbles to
the membrane (Nienow et al., 1977). In the 2-1itre ST,
the DO probe was immersed 100 mm down from the
2130 X. NI et al.
liquid surface, and 20 mm away from the wall of the
vessel. The signal output from the oxygen probes was
recorded directly by an IBM computer through
a CEDI401 interface. The hypothesis for carrying out
the kLa measurements in both batch systems is that
the local kLa measurements using DO probes can
represent the overall kLa characteristics in the sys-
tems, since a well-mixing state is readily achieved in
both reactors.
During the kLa experiments, the pH levels of both
yeast re-suspension and yeast culture in both systems
were continuously monitored using pH probes, which
have a temperature compensation function. Although
in a batch operation the pH level of the yeast culture
will not remain constant for very long, it was found
experimentally that the changes of the pH values in
the reactors were very small during the course of each
experiment, for example, from pH 6.6 to 6.8 for the
yeast re-suspension and pH 5.1 to 5.2 for the yeast
culture. In the 30-1itre ST fermenter, the pH level was
controlled at 5.1 + 0.1 throughout the experimental
duration. As the effect of the variations of pH levels in
the reactors on the oxygen concentration measure-
ments was found to be insignificant, the kLa data
reported for both systems in this paper have conse-
quently not been corrected for such variations of the
pH levels as, on balance, we feel this gives a more
reliable representation of the results.
Method of kLa measurement
Dynamic gassing-out technique was used to deter-
mine the kLa values in both reactors. Figure 2 is the
typical profile of the dissolved oxygen concentration
as a function of time for such a method.
The procedure involves stopping the supply of air
to the yeast solution at the start of the experiments,
which results in a linear decline in the dissolved oxy-
gen concentration due to the respiration of the yeast
culture, as shown in Fig. 2. The slope of the line AB in
Fig. 2 is a measurement of the respiration rate of the
culture in question. At point B the aeration is resumed
and the dissolved oxygen concentration increases un-
til it reaches concentration C, the final value of which
depends on the intensity of fluid mixing applied in the
system. Over the period, BC, the observed increase in
Air off
Dissolved
oxygen
cone. A .~ Air on
c was kept in a water bath at a temperature of typically
(DOC)
10¢~
Time
Fig. 2. D O C as a function of time when using dynamic
gassing-out technique.
the dissolved oxygen concentration is the difference
between the transfer of oxygen into the yeast solution
and the uptake of oxygen by the respiring culture,
expressed by eq. (1). The term Qo,x is the specific
oxygen uptake rate (g/1 h) and is given by the slope of
the line AB Equation (!) can be rearranged as
- l (dC
C = k7:\77 + Oo:
) + C*. (3)
Hence a plot of
dC
d t + Q('2x
against C will yield a straight-line, the slope of which
will be equal to - l/kLa, which gives the overall mass
transfer coetticient. In the interpretation of the experi-
mental measurements, the k~a data were obtained by
first considering the area around the oxygen probe as
a well-mixed batch system in which the concentration
of oxygen is uniform and the kinetics are first order.
As the axial concentration gradient in the pulsed
baffled bioreactor was not found to be significant, the
assumption of uniform oxygen concentration in the
region of the oxygen probe thus appears to be justi-
fied.
The dynamic gassing-out has been applied widely
when using yeast as the medium (Wang et al., 1979).
The major limitation in the operation of the technique
is however the range over which the increase in the
dissolved oxygen concentration may be measured
(Stanbury and Whitaker, 1984). It is important not to
allow the oxygen concentration to drop below its
critical level during the deoxygenation step as the
specific oxygen uptake rate would be affected by the
cells change to anaerobic metabolism. However, the
occurrence of the oxygen limited conditions during
the degassing period can be detected experimentally
by the deviation of the decline in the oxygen concen-
tration from a linear relationship with time, in our
experiments, for instance, the critical oxygen level was
found to be 10% saturation.
Procedure
When yeast re-suspension solutions were used, kLa
experiments were carried out separately in the pulsed
baffled bioreactor and the 2-1itre ST fermenter. Prior
to each test, the oxygen probes were calibrated at 100
and 0% oxygen saturation by sparging air and nitro-
gen respectively in the systems. Yeast re-suspension
25°C for about 30 rain. The experimental duration for
each test was typically 5 rain. In such a time, no
significant growth of the yeast culture is expected. Our
experiments can however demonstrate the effects of
the fluid mechanical and operational conditions in the
two systems on the oxygen transfer rate in the yeast
re-suspension. In order to correlate the k~a measure-
ments with power density calculations for both sys-
tems, a large number of kLa experiments has been
carried out covering a wide range of operational con-
ditions, e.g. oscillation frequencies from 3 to 12 Hz;
 A comparative study of mass transfer in yeast
amplitudes from 4 to 14 mm in the pulsed baffled
bioreactor; and the agitation speed from 600 to
1800 rpm in the 2-1itre ST fermenter. The operating
data for both the pulsed baffled bioreactor and the
2-1itre ST fermenter are summarised in Table 2.
According to the procedure of the dynamic gassing-
out technique, each experiment started by charging
the yeast solutions (re-suspension/culture) into the
reactors in the absence of an air supply, while main-
taining a minimum amount of agitation in order just
to keep the vessels mixed. For this purpose a min-
imum oscillation frequency of 2 Hz coupled with the
pre-set oscillation amplitude (7 mm) was applied to
the pulsed baffled bioreactor, while 200 rpm was used
in the 2-1itre ST fermenter. The oxygen concentration
as a function of time was monitored and recorded
continuously at the start of the deoxygenation stage
for both systems. When the oxygen level had fallen to
just above its critical level, i.e. 10%, the aeration was
then resumed to a volumetric air flow rate of 0.5 vvm
for both reactors. At the same time, the intensity of
agitation to the reactors was increased. For the pulsed
baffled bioreactor for example, the oscillation fre-
quency was increased to 5 Hz, while maintaining the
same oscillation amplitude. For the 2-1itre ST fermen-
ter, on the other hand, the agitation speed of the
impellers was increased to 900 rpm.
RESULTSAND DISCUSSION
Before presenting the kLa data, we present the flow
pattern observed in the pulsed baffled bioreactor. Fig-
ure 3 is one of the typical examples of the particle flow
patterns. The tracer particles used in the flow visualiz-
ation were Conifer Pollen which has an average dia-
meter of 90/~m. These particles are used because,
when wet, their density is very close to that of water
ensuring that the tracer particles faithfully follow the
flow even under high flow acceleration when high
oscillation frequency and amplitude were used.
A complicated eddy mixing pattern is clearly seen
in Fig. 3. Vortices formed behind the baltics on the
first half of the stroke, which are driven into the centre
2131
of the stream on the flow reversal. This provides an
efficient mechanism for moving fluid from the walls of
the column to the centre of the vessel. The intensity of
this movement was affected by the oscillation fre-
quency and amplitude. The flow becomes progres-
sively more complex as the oscillation frequencies and
amplitudes increase. The flow visualizations reported
here are consistent with those reported for a 25 mm
diameter tube (Brunold et al., 1989; Dickens et al.,
1989; Mackley and Ni, 1991, 1993). The uniform mix-
ing produced by the reactor ensures that the hypothe-
sis used in the interpretation of kta measurements is
justified.
Yeast re-suspension
The kLa measurements in yeast re-suspension as
functions of oscillation frequency and amplitude are
plotted in Fig. 4 for the pulsed baffled bioreactor. It
can clearly be seen that kLa increases with the increase
of the oscillation frequency for all the amplitudes
tested. This can be compared with the photographic
plate discussed earlier (Fig. 3), where increasing the
oscillation frequency increases the intensity of agita-
tion to the system, which leads to the increase in the
mass transfer coefficient. For higher oscillation ampli-
tudes, on the other hand, increases in the oscillation
frequency result in a much steeper increase in the kLa
values, which suggests that changes in the oscillation
amplitude affects kLa more than changes in the oscil-
lation frequency. This indicates that the amplitude of
o~cillation controls the length ofeddy generated along
the column.
Similarly, the kLa measurements as a function of
the agitating speed in the 2-1itre ST fermenter are
plotted in Fig. 5. An increasing trend in kLa can also
be seen with the increase of the agitating speed of the
impellers.
kLa correlations
In order to compare the kLa measurements between
the two reactor systems, it is essential to correlate the
kLa data with the power consumed per unit volume.

Table 2. Operating conditions for both the pulsed baffled bioreactor and the ST fermenter

2-1itre ST fermenter Pulsed baffled reactor

Operating volume (1) 2 0.75

Liquid height (mm) 195 400
Diameter of vessel (mm) 120 50
Number of baffles 4 6
Width/diameter of baffle (mm) 10 30
Sparger type 3 mm single orifice Ring sparger
Aeration rate (vvm) 0.5 0.5
Agitation type Disc turbine impeller Baffles + oscillation
Agitation rate 900 rpm 5 Hz, 7 mm
Agitation at degassing 200 rpm 2 Hz, 7 mm
Surface N 2 sparging at degassing No No
pH level 6.6 yeast re-suspension 6.6 yeast re-suspension
5.1 yeast culture 5.1 yeast culture
Temperature (C) 30 30
Pressure (atm) 1 1
2132 X. Nl et a!.

Baffle locatio~ m

Baffle location

Fig. 3. Particle flow pattern in the batch pulsed baffled bioreactor. Tracer = pollen, bulk fluid = water,
oscillation frequency = 2.5 Hz, oscillation amplitude = 6 mm, column diameter = 50 mm.

600 --

O amplitude: 4ram
v 500 -- O amplitude: 6ram
g~ amplitude: 10ram /X

u 400 -- n amplitude: 14ram

300 --

z 0
200 -- 0 A m m 0
0 & 0
100 -- o A 8 8 g o
I I I I l l I
2 4 6 $ 10 12 14

Oscillatory frequency (Hz)

Fig. 4. kta measurements vs oscillation frequency and amplitude for yeast re-suspension in the pulsed
baffled bioreactor.

For gas-sparged systems in general, the correlation where A, m and n are constants and Ug is the gas
kLa and the power density follows the form (Van't superficial velocity (m/s). For the estimation of the
Riet, 1979) as: power consumption in the pulsed baffled bioreactor,
we used an energy calculation based on that originally
kLa = A (Uo)" (4) derived for packed columns (Jealous and Johnson,
1955), and subsequently used by Baird and Garstang
 A comparative study of mass transfer in yeast
t. 300 --
250 --
of
200 --
O 150 --
100 --
50 --
I I
200 400
Fig. 5. kLa measurements vs agitation speed for yeast re-suspension in the 2-1itre ST fermenter.
(1967) for pulsed columns. This method used a quasi-
steady assumption to calculate the pressure drop and
power density for oscillating flow. By applying
Bernoulli's equation between two planes adjacent to
a baffle, the pressure drop across the orifice plate can
be obtained. From the pressure drop, an instan-
taneous power density can be worked out, and by
integrating this over a complete cycle and allowing for
a number of orifice plates, it gives a time-averaged
power density (Hewgill et al., 1993; Ni and Mackley,
1993) as
P 2pN b 1 - ~t2
= ~3 (W/m 3)
3nC2o ct2 xao
where Nb is the number of baffles per unit length
(m- t), ~t the ratio of the effective baffle orifice area to
the tube area, p the density of fluid (kg/m3), Xo the
oscillation amplitude (m), ~ the angular oscillation
frequency (rad/s) and Co the orifice discharge coeffi-
cient (taken as 0.7). Previous studies on power dissipa-
tion for both unaerated and aerated pulsed columns
(Baird and Garstang, 1967) show that power density
under aeration in a pulsed column was not much
different from that in the absence of gassing. In their
experiments, only few data under aeration appeared
slightly higher than the ungassing value, but the dif-
ference, as they concluded, was not significant. Based
on this finding, we have subsequently not taken ac-
count of the effect of aeration in the power density
calculations for the pulsed baffled column.
The power consumption for an unaerated ST, Pu, is
defined (Holland and Chapman, 1966) as
P---~= P°pN3D-------------25~(W/m 3)
V nD2L/4
where Po is the power number of the stirrer, N the
speed of the stirrer (rps), D, the diameter of the stirrer
(m), Dv the diameter of the vessel (m) and L the height
in the vessel which is occupied by liquid (m). By using
the procedures described by Kissack et al. (1994), the
power number for a dual-impeller ST can be deter-
mined according to two ratios, i.e. the ratio of liquid
height to vessel diameter (L/Dv), and the ratio of
2133
O
O
O
O
O
I I I I I I I I
600 g00 1000 1200 1400 1600 1 8 0 0 2000
Agitation speed (rpm)
liquid height above the top impeller to vessel diameter
(H/Dv). Calculating the two ratios for the 2-1itre ST
used in our experiments, the power number was found
to be seven. However, the power number determined
using the above procedure was based on a ratio of
impeller diameter to vessel diameter (DJDv) of 0.5. In
our 2-1itre ST, D,/Dv was 0.333. Studies by Bates et al.
(1963), Nienow and Miles (1971) and Nienow et al.
(1977) suggest that the power number is a weak func-
tion of DJDv, and the change in power number with
Ds/Dv was essentially negligible for D,/Dv ranging in
0.25-0.5; consequently we have not corrected the ef-
(5) fect of the ratio of the impeller to vessel diameter on
the power number determination.
The power consumption between an aerated, Po,
and unaerated, P~, ST was given by Nagata (1975) as
log =(Pa)
~ _ 192 ( D ~ ) 43s (_~_)OZ.N'~T M
1"0 N 2\l'96(odo~ q
(7)
where q is the gas flow rate (m3/s), v is the viscosity of
fluid (m2/s), and g is the gravitational acceleration
(m/s2). The power consumption calculated using eq.
(7) mainly applies to STs with a ring sparger. For
other types of spargers, for example, a nozzle or single
orifice sparger, the decrease of the power was found to
be larger than that for a ring sparger (Nagata, 1975).
Although the exact amount of decrease in power was
not given in the studies (Nagata, 1975), by interpreting
the given graphs, a 10% decrease in power for the
(6) single orifice sparger, as compared to a ring sparger,
appears to be reasonable. We have subsequently fitted
our kLa data obtained in both systems with the power
densities for the range of operational conditions to the
general form of the correlation as shown in the eq. (4)
as"
For the pulsed bamed bioreactor:
k,.a=3.62(P)°43(Uo) °.Ss (h- t~ (8)
2134 X. NI et al.
6oo

._"o 400 ~ correl o

soo

._ . ,atiofor
n. . . ~
~I ~ ~ P ~ oB o o
u 300

~*'*~ 1 1 I I I I I I I I
0 tooo 2ooo 3ooo 4ooo 5ooo 6ooo 7ooo g o o o 9 o o o ~oooo
Power density (W/m 3)

Fig. 6. kta against power densities calculated using eqs (5)-(7).

For the 2-1itre ST fermenter: reached a steady state in the 30-1itre ST fermenter,
which can be measured by taking samples out at
kLa = 1.645 (Ug) TM (h- I) (9) a regular interval and analysing the optical density of
each sample, we took 2 1yeast culture from the 30-1itre
In our experiments, the kLa measurements in both ST fermenter for the kLa experiments in the 2-1itre ST
systems were made with the gassing rate held constant fermenter and 1 1 in the pulsed baffled bioreactor. As
while increasing the power densities. In such a way, the experimental duration for each test was typically
the full range of flow phenomena can be covered, and 30 rain in either reactor, it is impossible to carry out
a comparison of kLa for the two systems can be the kLa experiments simultaneously in both systems,
carried out. Figure 6 shows the comparison of the we decided to alternate the experiments in a half an
correlations for the two systems at a given aeration hour interval for a day. By doing so, it allows us to
rate of 0.5 vvm. It can be seen from Fig. 6 that in the obtain the kLa profiles as a function of concentra-
power density range of our experiments (up to tion/age of the yeast culture. For this type of experi-
10,000 W/m 3) the pulsed baffled system gives a more ment, a fixed agitation intensity is required and for
energy-efficient means of increasing gas-liquid mass this purpose we have chosen the operational condi-
transfer. On average, 75% higher kLa were obtained tions of 5 Hz and 7 mm for the pulsed baffled bioreac-
in the pulsed baffled bioreactor than in the ST fermen- tor and 900 rpm for the 2-1itre ST fermenter. The
ter. operating conditions for both the pulsed baffled
bioreactor and the 2 litre ST fermenter are given in
Yeast culture Table 2. Table 3 shows the values of kLa obtained
In order to show that the measured trends of mass using the dynamic gassing out method during the
transfer of oxygen into yeast re-suspension in both batch cultivation of yeast in both systems.
systems can be obtained when yeast culture was used, From Table 3, it can be seen that kLa values in-
we have carried out kLa experiments in parallel in the crease with the concentration/age of the culture for
two systems using yeast culture of different concentra- both systems. The comparison of the kLa data in yeast
tions/ages. For such experiments, the bulk of the yeast culture indicates that on average 75% higher kLa were
culture was fermented in the 30-1itre ST fermenter measured in the pulsed baffled bioreactor than in the
under well controlled operational conditions prior to ST fermenter. The trends of the kLa data from the
each parallel experiment. When the cell growth has yeast culture experiments are consistent with those
obtained from the yeast re-suspension. The fact that
the kLa increased with fermentation time suggests that
the physical properties of the broth had changed.
Table 3. Batch culture of yeast in a 1-1itre pulsed baffled
bioreactor (PBB) and a 2-1itre stirred tank fermenter (STF) Metabolites released into the medium can affect sur-
face tension and hence bubble size and coalescence
kLa (h - l ) (Fiechter et al., 1982). It is also evident from Table 3
Elapsed time pH Dry cell that the rate of the kLa measured in the pulsed baffled
(min) (STF/PBB) (mg/ml) STF PBB bioreactor and the ST fermenter is fairly constant
(1.8-1.9) throughout the fermentation. This indicates
210 5.1 __+0.1 1.194 64.80
240 5.1 + 0.1 122.98 consistency in the technique. The higher kLa meas-
285 5.1 + 0.1 3.03 71.54 ured in the pulsed baffled bioreactor compared with
300 5.1 + 0.1 132.32 the ST fermenter could be due to an increase in the
420 5.1 + 0.1 4.067 liquid-side transfer coefficient, kL or the interracial
435 5.1 + 0.1 87.27 area, a (or both). This effect could be due to an
465 5.1 + 0.1 157.64
increase in gas hold-up (and hence increase the
 A comparative study of mass transfer in yeast
a term), as reported by Baird and Garstang (1967) and
Serieys et al. (1978). This effect could also be asso-
ciated with the more even distribution of shear rate in
the pulsed baffled bioreactor (Ni et al., 1995), which
on average leads to thinner liquid films (hence in-
crease the kL term) (Fiechter et al., 1982).
CONCLUSIONS
We have reported the experimental data of mass
transfer of oxygen into yeast re-suspension and cul-
ture in a batch baffled bioreactor and a ST fermenter.
The comparative mass transfer study shows that the
pulsed baffled system gave higher mass transfer rate
than the ST fermenter for both yeast re-suspension
and culture. The work reported here fully supports
and extends the work of Ni et al. (1995). Our kLa
correlations with the power density calculations show
that the pulsed baffled bioreactor can operate more
efficiently than a gas-sparged ST. The kLa values in
the pulsed baffled bioreactor are on average 75%
higher than those in the ST fermenter.
Flow visualisation experiments in this paper show
that fluid oscillation in a baffled column is an efficient
way of keeping particles in suspension and well mixed.
The particles used for the visualisation were on aver-
age 90/am pollen powder which are nearly neutrally
buoyant having a density of 980 kg/m 3. A potential
application in this case would be in particle floccula-
tion for example.
Acknowledgements--Authors wish to thank HEFCE for the
financial support of this project. The authors also wish to
thank Mr. G. Iceton for help on preparing the yeast culture:
Mr. K. Middleton, Mr. B. Fowell, Mr. E. Thomas and Mr.
M. Wears for constructing the experimental rigs and control
units; Mr. D. Boddy for filming and processing the plate.
NOTATION
A constant
C concentration of dissolved oxygen, g/l
C* concentration of saturated oxygen, g/l
Co orifice discharge coefficient ( = 0.7)
D., diameter of stirrer, m
De diameter of vessel, m
E actual output of D O probe ( = C/C*)
Ei ideal input of electrode( = C'/C*)
H liquid height above the top impeller, m
kLa volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient, h -
L height in a ST which is occupied by liquid, m
m constant
FI constant
N~ number of baffles per unit length, m -
N speed of stirrer, rps
P/V power density, W / m 3
power density under aeration, W/m 3
Po/V
P,/ V power density in the absence of gassing,
W/m 3
Po Power number of a stirrer
q gas flow rate, I/s
Qo~ specific respiration rate, g/g h
t time variable, h
Us superficial gas velocity, m/s
2135
x concentration biomass, g/l
x0 centre-to-peak amplitude of oscillation, m
Greek letters
ratio of effective baffle area to tube area
v viscosity of fluid, m2/s
p density of fluid, kg/m 3
oJ angular frequency of oscillation, rad/s
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