Continuous Flow Bioreactor

MANAM WALAIT
LECTURER
FLS, UCP LAHORE
Continuous Flow Bioreactor

 Continuous-flow reactors are almost always operated at steady state.

We will consider three types:
 the continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR),
 the plug-flow reactor (PFR),
 the packed-bed reactor (PBR).
Continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR)

 A type of reactor commonly used in industrial processing is the stirred tank operated continuously.
 It is referred to as the continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) or vat, or backmix reactor.
 It is primarily used for liquid-phase reactions. 
 It is normally operated at steady state.
 It is assumed to be perfectly mixed.
 there is no time dependence or position dependence of the temperature, concentration, or reaction rate
inside the CSTR.
 That is, every variable is the same at every point inside the reactor. Because the temperature and
concentration are identical everywhere within the reaction vessel, they are the same at the  exit point as
they are elsewhere in the tank. Thus, the temperature and concentration in the exit stream are modeled
as being the same as those inside the reactor.
CSTR/batch reactor (Photo courtesy of
Pfaudler, Inc.)
 Plug-Flow Bioreactor

 Also called as tubular flow or plug flow bioreactor

 Nutrients or microorganisms enter one end of the cylindrical tube
and the cells grow while they pass through tube.
 Fluid moves along a pipe or channel such that there is no or
negligible mixing along the direction of flow but the fluid is well
mixed in radial direction.
 Complete mixing of the fluid is not possible.
 Concentration of substrates and product vary throughout reactor
Plug-Flow Bioreactor

 Fluid going through a PFR may be modeled as flowing through the

reactor as a series of infinitely thin coherent "plugs", each with a
uniform composition, traveling in the axial direction of the reactor,
with each plug having a different composition from the ones before
and after it. 
 The key assumption is that as a plug flows through a PFR, the fluid
is perfectly mixed in the radial direction but not in the
axial direction (forwards or backwards).
Plug-Flow Bioreactor
Plug-Flow Bioreactor
 Plug-Flow Bioreactor

Advantages

 Can run for long period of time without maintenance.

 Heat transfer can be managed by using more thinner tubes or thicker tubes in parallel.
 High conversion of substrate per unit volume of the media.
 Low Operating cost.

Disadvantages
 Poor temperature control of the fermenter
 Temperature regulation can be uneven along the reactor and difficult to control.
 Shutdown or cleaning may be a problem.
 Packed-Bed Bioreactor

 They are a type of plug Flow Bioreactor

 Packed-bed bioreactors are tubular types of reactors which are packed with immobilized
enzyme or microbial cells as biocatalysts.
 Microorganisms or enzymes are attached to the stationary phase.
 Stationary phase for a packed-bed bioreactor can be pea-sized stones or plastic media.
 They have cylindric shape or called tube bioreactor.
 Fluid mixing is in radial direction. Axial mixing doesn’t occur.
Packed-Bed Bioreactor

 The flow of the substrate can be three ways; downward, upward or recycling
 Generally the industrial packed bed reactor are constructed with upward flow
because the enzyme beds are not compressed during upward flow.
 Packed-Bed Bioreactor

Advantages
 Easy to operate
 Better quality control of products
 High mass transfer and reaction rates
 Immobilized enzymes can be used multiple time
 Continuous operation allows for constant product recovery.
 The whole microbial cells when immobilized in PBB, they
allow for biotransformation and synthesis of desired target
product.
 Packed-Bed Bioreactor

Disadvantages
 Continuous diffusion of the substrate and product in and out of the support
matrix can lead to external resistance in mass transfer.
Applications
 Dairy Industry: Nutraceutical production from whey. e.g. galacto-
oligosaccharide, lactosucrose.
 Food and beverage industry for production of high fructose corn syrup, fructose
production, ethanol and beer production etc.
 Bioenergy production:
Hydrogen production using immobilized microbes.
Biogas (methane) production using wastewater.
Ethanol production using starch and biodiesel production using soybean, castor,