Model lay-out

The block charts of every one-phase reactor design are showcased and explained below, which form
the basis for the oxygen balances in the mathematical model. The infinity sign visualizes a stirrer and
the cross a pump.

Bubble column
A bubble column is the easiest design for the degasser in the reactor system (Figure xx). In this case,
the liquid phase is circulated through the degasser and the PBR with a liquid pump. The gas phase is
pumped through the degasser with a gas pump and removes oxygen from the liquid phase
depending on the oxygen concentration in the gas and liquid phase. The degasser will from now on
be regarded as the centre of the reactor, as oxygen transfer takes place here. This means that you
have a COLIN entering the degasser and a COL leaving the degasser. For now, it is assumed that no
external liquid is added to the system and no gas recycle takes place.

FL COLIN FG COG

ROV VPBR

FL COL
FG COGIN

Image : Block chart of bubble column reactor system

Airlift
The block chart ofconcept of the airlift reactor system is very comparable to the bubble column,
aside from the fact that there is no liquid pump present (Figure xx). This means that in the degasser
there is not only a transfer of oxygen from liquid to gas, but also a transfer of energy from gas to
liquid in order to maintain a sufficient velocity in the liquid phase. A plugflow is considered in the
PBR, but this is of no influence to the final model as the oxygen production rate is assumed to be
constant.

FL COLIN FG COG
Image : Block chart of airlift
reactor system

Packed bed

ROV VPBR
 FL COL
FG COGIN

The approach towards the packed bed is significantly different from the airlift and the bubble
column, as a plugflow is considered in the degasser. This means that you require a micro- and macro
balance over the reactor, as displayed with the dotted line. Similar to the bubble column, you do
have a separate liquid and gas pump.

FL COLIN FG COG
COLIN

FL (COL+dCOL)
ROV VPBR

FL COL

FL COL FG COGIN
COLIN
Image: Block chart of packed bed reactor system

Model design
In the following, an in-depth description is given of the mathematical approach towards the oxygen
transfer in the 3 three one-phase reactors and the two-phase bioreactor. First, the basis of the
model is laid in the form of a set of descriptive equations. Afterwards, any deviations from the core
model are described per reactor.

Each model is builtd up in 3three defined parts. First of all, the movement of oxygen in the liquid and
gas phase should be described, which entails oxygen balances over the degasser and the PBR.
Secondly, a hydrodynamic model is required to describe the oxygen transfer from the liquid to the
gas phase based on parameters such as the bubble size and liquid velocity. Lastly, a profound
description should be used for the pressure build-up over the degasser, which among others highly
influences the gas velocity. The combination of the latter equations can be used to calculate the
minimal gas and liquid velocity that is required to keep the oxygen concentration below a fixed
value. Consequently, the energy consumption of the liquid and gas pump can be derived.

The model for oxygen transport starts with three oxygen balances. The overall balance describes the
movement of oxygen in the reactor from production in the liquid phase of the PBR to removal in the
gas phase in the degasser. The liquid balance says states that the produced oxygen in the PBR is
equal to the transfer of oxygen to the gas phase in the degasser. The PBR balance describes that the
difference between the ingoing and outgoing oxygen concentration in PBR is equal to the oxygen
production. It is assumed that no oxygen production takes place in the degasser, as its influence
would be negligible due to lack of light and small volume in comparison. Furthermore, differences in
light intensities are not considered and a fixed biomass productivity is assumed.

O2 overall 0=FG∗C OGIN −F G∗COGOUT + ROV ∗V PBR Eq. 1

C OGOUT
∗p B
O2 liquid αO Eq. 2
0=ROV ∗V PBR−kOLa∗(C OLOUT − )
pA

O2 PBR 0=F L∗COLOUT −F L∗C OLIN + R OV∗V PBR Eq. 3

Here, FG is the gas velocity (m/s), FL the liquid velocity (m/s), COGIN and COGOUT the ingoing and outgoing
oxygen concentration in the gas phase of the degasser (mol/m 3), COLIN and COLOUT the ingoing and
outgoing oxygen concentration in the liquid phase of the degasser (mol/m 3), VDEG the total liquid
volume of the degasser (m 3), VPBR the total liquid volume of the PBR (m 3), αO the maintenance
coefficient (mol/mol), kOLa the mass transfer coefficient from the gas to the liquid phase (1/s), R OV
the oxygen production rate in the PBR (mol/m 3s) and pB and pA for the pressure at the bottom and
the top of the degasser respectively. It is assumed that the degasser is ideally mixed and therefore
the following can be said.

C OGOUT =C OG Eq. 4
C OLOUT =C OL Eq. 5

Here, COG and COL are the oxygen concentrations in the ideally mixed degasser in the gas and liquid
phase. This simplifies equations 1 to 3 considerably, resulting in the following set of equations.

O2 overall 0=FG∗C OGIN −F G∗COG + ROV ∗V PBR Eq. 6

C OG
∗p B
O2 liquid αO Eq. 7
0=ROV ∗V PBR−kOLa∗(C OL − )
pA

O2 PBR 0=F L∗COL −F L∗C OLIN + ROV ∗V PBR Eq. 8

The oxygen concentration entering the degasser can be calculated with the following equationthe
ideal gas law (eq.9), where the oxygen concentration is dependent of the pressure outside of the
reactor pO (Pa), the gas constant R(J/molK) and the fraction of oxygen in the air yO (mol/kgm3).

y O∗p O
C OGIN = Eq.9
R∗T

As the gas phase is pushed upwards through the degasser in counter-current with the liquid phase,
the pressure build-up has to be incorporated in the oxygen balances (eq. 7). This can be seen in
equation 7. The pressure build-up is dependent on the height H L of the degasser (m). It is assumed in
this case that the pressure loss over the sparger is negligible.
 pB = p A + ρL∗H L∗g x Eq. 10

A hydrodynamic model is used for the derivatisation of the kOLa. Many models are available in
literature based on fitted data, but the kOLa can also be calculated algebraically. The kOla can be
separated in a transfer coefficient k OL (m/s) and a specific area a (m 2/m3) (Eq. 11), as described in
equation 11.

kOLa=k OL∗a Eq. 11

Both the transfer coefficient and the specific area can be derived separately(Eq. 12-13), as can be
seen in equation 12 and 13.

( )
0.31
1 −5
k OL=5.5∗10 ∗ Eq. 12
dB

6∗hG
a= Eq. 13
dB

Here, hG is the gas hold-up in the degasser (m 3/m3) and dB the average diameter of a gas bubble in
the degasser (m). It is assumed in this case that the effect of the gas velocity on the bubble size is
negligible and therefor a fixed estimate can be used for the bubble size. The gas hold-up is
dependent on the superficial gas velocity, the bubble rise velocity and the pressure difference over
the degasser, as equation 14 displays(Eq.14).

uG
∗p A
vB Eq. 14
hG =
pB

F G∗H L
uG = Eq. 15
V DEG

Here, uG is the superficial gas velocity (m/s) and vB the bubble rise velocity from the sparger. The
bubble rise velocity can be calculated with the following equationby calderbank's equation for
bubble rise velocite (Eq.18)_.

v B=
√ 2∗σ g x∗d B
ρL∗d B
+
2
Eq. 16

Here, σ is the interfacial tension of air and water (N/m), ρL the density of the liquid phase (kg/m 3)
and gx the gravity (m/s2), which are all universal constants.

Once the liquid and gas velocity has have been derived, the power requirement for pumping the gas
and liquid phase can be calculated (Eq. 17-18).
 1
∗1 γ −1
ηG pB γ Eq. 17
PG = ∗F G∗p A∗( −1)
γ−1 pA

1
P L= ∗F ∗− Δ p L Eq. 18
ηL L

Here, ηG and ηL are the electrical efficiencies of the gas and liquid pump respectively (%) , ϒ the
adiabatic index (-) and ΔpL the pressure build-up over the PBR. The efficiency of the pumps is
assumed to be 100% for ease. The adiabatic index is a fixed value drawn from literature. The
pressure difference over the PBR consists of the pressure build-up over the length of the reactor and
of the pressure build-up in the bends of the tubular system.

2
ρ L∗uL
∗4∗f D∗L
2 2 Eq. 19
Δ p L= + N∗ρL∗u L
2∗R

Here, uL is the superficial liquid velocity (m/s), f D the friction factor for a turbulent flow (m 2/s), L the
length of the tubular system (m) and N the number of bends in the tubular system (#). The friction
factor is dependent of the Reynolds number Re (m 2/s) (Eq.20-21), which can be calculated with
equation 21. The calculation of the superficial liquid velocity is depicted in equation 21. The
calculation of the superficial liquid velocity is slightly different from the calculation of the superficial
gas velocity in equation 15, as the PBR is now used for the volume instead of the degasser (Eq. 22).

0.079
f D= 0.25 Eq. 20
Re

ρL∗u L∗d T
ℜ= Eq. 21
μL

FL
uL= 2 Eq.
0.25∗π∗dT
22
Here, dT is the diameter of the tubes in the PBR (m) and μ L the viscosity of the liquid phase (Pa/s).
The viscosity of the liquid phase is a standard value from literature.

From this core model, 4 reactor-specific models have been derived with increasing complexity.

Bubble Column

The model of the bubble column reactor system fully corresponds with the core model. In this case,
Hhowever, the kOLa can be reliably predicted with fitted equations from literature as well.
Therefore, a quantitative comparison will be made between the hydrodynamic model for the kOla
and the following fitted equations (Eq/23-25).

−4 0.86
Christi kOla=2.39∗10 ∗uG Eq. 23
 0.86
Van ’t Riet kOLa=0.32∗( uG∗ρ L∗g x ) Eq. 24

( )
0.86
pG −4
Sierra kOLa=2.39∗10 ∗ Eq. 25
uG

Airlift

The crucial difference between the airlift and the bubble column lies in the presence, or lack thereof ,
a liquid pump. In an airlift the liquid and gas phase are circulated with the gas pump. This means that
the liquid velocity cannot be calculated purely based on the oxygen concentrations anymore (eq.3),
as can be seen in equation 3, but instead is completely dependantdependent on the gas velocity.
Therefore, the third oxygen balanceequation xx over the PBR can no longer be used and annew
equation describing the link between the gas and liquid velocity takes its place.is required (Eq xx).

√ ( )
β
g x∗ ∗H L
vB
C0 + Eq. 26
V Jr
F L = DEG ∗
HL 2∗f D∗L
dT

FG
β= Eq. 27
FG + F L

( F L+ F G )∗H L
Jr = Eq. 28
V DEG

Here, β is the ratio of the superficial gas velocity to the total superficial velocity (-) and J r is the sum
of the superficial liquid and gas velocity (-). Obviously, the lack of a liquid pump also means that
there will be no power requirement for the liquid pump, which eliminates equation 18 to 22.

Packed bed

The approach towards the packed bed is inherently different due to the fact that a n assumed
plugflow is assumed in the degasser. Therefore, equations 1 and 2 can no longer be used and the
assumption displayed in equations 4 to 8 is no longer valid. Instead, a macro- and microbalance are
required (Eq. 29-30), seen in equation 29 and 30 respectively. It can also be seen that tThe pressure
component has been removed from the oxygen balances,. Asa the pressure drop is relatively low in a
packed bed. That isas due toa result of the low liquid hold-up and, the pressure difference over the
degasser is assumed to be negligible. It is fortunateFortunatly, that this assumption can be made, as
otherwise it would be complicated to deal with the fact that the p B cannot be fixed with a packed
bed in plugflow.

Macrobalance 0=F L∗COLIN + F G∗C OGIN −FG∗COG −F L∗C OL Eq. 29

Microbalance 0=F L∗COL −F L∗( C OL +d COL )−kOLa∗ C OL −
( C OG
αO )
∗dV Eq. 30

O2 PBR balance 0=F L∗COLOUT −F L∗C OLIN + R OV∗V PBR Eq. 31

The hydrodynamic model changes fundamentally as well., as Tthe gas phase is not dispersed as
bubbles in the degasser any more: The gas phase occupies 90% of the degasser’s volume. Therefore,
an estimate needs to be made for the specific area based on literature data. The transfer coefficient
can be derived with the retention time t c (s) of the liquid in the degasser (Eq.34), displayed in
equation 34.

a=100 Eq. 32

k OL=
√ FL
V DEG∗π∗t c
Eq. 33

dp
t c= Eq. 34
vL

Here, vL is the real liquid velocity in relation to the wall (m/s) and dp the diameter of a particle of the
packing material. The diameter of the particles in the packing material can be drawn from literature.
The vL is dependent on superficial liquid velocity u L (m/s) and the liquid hold-up (Eq.35-36), as shown
in equation 35. In a packed bed the liquid phase is assumed to move through the packing material,
instead of along the vessel’s walls.

uL
vL= Eq. 35
hL

F L∗H L
uL= Eq. 36
V DEG

The pressure build-up over the degasser, however small, is not negligible regarding the power
requirement of the gas pump. As the degasser merely consists of the liquid phase for roughly 10%,
but by and large of packing material, the calculation of the pressure build-up ΔpG is highly dependent
on the choice of a packing material. With the pressure build-up and the standard pressure at the top
of the vessel, the pressure at the bottom of the vessel can be derived (Eq.37-38), as can be seen in
equation 38.

e−0.14∗1−ε 2
∗F v
( )( )
−3
ε h h Eq. 37
∆ pG =H L∗ω∗5.4+ R ∗ 1+ L ∗ 1− L
d p∗K 1−ε ε

pB =Δ pG + p A Eq. 38

Here, ω is a factor that includes the shape of the packing material (-), ε the void fraction of the
packing material (-), hL is the liquid hold-up for which an estimate is made, F v the gas capacity factor
of the packing material (-), K a factor that includes the shape of the wall. The packing material is
assumed to be structured and the values of all parameters have been chosen accordingly.

The large area of void volume in the degasser of a packed bed also has an influence on the power
requirement of the liquid pump. The liquid phase moves from the top to the bottom of the degasser
and then gradually moves upwards again through the PBR. As the bubble column and the airlift
reactor systems are wholly filled with liquid, the height difference is of no influence and the liquid
phase can move continuously through the system. In a packed bed and a two-phase reactor system,
on the other hand, the liquid phase moves in batches through the system, which means that
additional energy is required from the liquid pump to breach the height difference. This factor has
been added to equation 19, resulting in equation 39.

2
ρ L∗uL
∗4∗f D∗L
2 2 Eq. 39
Δ p L= + N∗ρL∗u L + H L∗F L∗g x
2∗R

Two phase

The model of the two-phase reactor system has been designed and described by Fernando (source).
The input of all models has been synchronized with the input parameters of the two-phase, including
the ROV, COL, COLIN, HL, pA, pO, T, L, dT, N, VPBR and VDEG. The gas and liquid velocity in the output of every
model is used to calculate the power requirement of the gas and liquid pump. The same equations
can be used to calculate the power requirement of the two-phase reactor system. As explained
before with the packed bed reactor system, the pressure build-up over the degasser and PBR are
derived differently, as described in equations 34 and 35.