Types of fermenters & Types of Bioreactors

Submitted to : Ma’m Sana

Submitted by: Jaweria Ejaz
Roll No. : BSF1702056
Semester : BS Zooogy 8th (M)

UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, TOWNSHIP LAHORE

CONTENT

 Introduction to fermenter
 Batch fermenter
 Continuous fermenter
 Fed Batch fermenter
 Primary fermenter
 Lactose fermenter
 Introduction to bioreactor
 Continuous Stirred Tank Bioreactor
 Rotatory drum tank bioreactor
 Airlift Bioreactor
 Fluidized Bed Bioreactor
 Packed Bed Bioreactor
 Photobioreactor
 Membrane Bioreactor
 Bubble Column Bioreactor
Types of Fermenter:
Introduction:
 A fermenter is basically a device in which the substrate of low value is utilized
by living cells or enzymes to generate a product of higher value.
 Fermenter is the Heart of fermentation.
 It is a containment system designed to give right environment for optimal
growth and metabolic activity of the organism.
 It is a device in which microbes are cultivated and motivated to form desirable
products.

Types:

The major types of fermenter includes

1. Batch fermenter
2. Continuous fermenter
3. Semi-continuous or Fed batch fermenter

Other types include

1. Primary fermenter

2. Lactose fermenter.
1. Batch fermenter:

 Batch fermentation is what is described as a 'closed system', where the substrate

and producing microorganism are added to the system at time zero and are not
removed until the fermentation is complete.
 This represents the simplest and most commonly employed method
of fermentation for the production of bacteriocins.

Working:

 Batch bioreactors comprise of single tank capable of carrying out sequence of

reactions and are easy to operate.
 The tank is equipped with an agitator to mix the reactants along with integral
heating and cooling system. Buffer solution or pH controller is used to control
pH of the reactant.
 These vessels may vary in capacity from less than 1 liter to more than 15,000
liters. Liquids and solids are usually charged via inlets in the top cover of the
reactor. Vapors and gases also discharge through connections in the top.
Usually liquids are removed from the bottom.
Advantages:

 Batch fermenter is widely used in industry.

 It is easy to operate.
 It is of low risk for contamination
 Flexible
 Low investment costs
 Mutation effect of cells has minimal impact

Disadvantages:

 It has low productivity.

 It also has low production due to product inhibition.
 Product quality volatile

2. Continuous Fermenters:
  For a bioreactor on continuous mode operations, fresh medium is
continuously added and the products, along with the culture are removed at
the same rate, thus maintaining constant concentrations of nutrients and cells
throughout the process.
 Continuous process is frequently used for high-volume production; for
reactions using gas, liquid, or soluble solid substrates; and for processes
involving microorganisms with high mutation-stability.
 Typical end products include vinegar, baker's yeast and treated wastewater.
 Chemostat is a common example of continuous process reactor.

Advantages:

 Growth rate is higher as nutrients are continuously added to the fermentation

tank.
 Continuous cultures are more efficient as the fermenter operates
continuously.
 Very useful for processes involving the production of primary metabolites.
  Low risk of infection

Disadvantages:

 Set up is more difficult, the maintenance of required growing conditions can

be difficult to achieve.
 If contamination occurs, huge volumes of product may be lost.
 Higher mutation risk

3. Fed Batch fermenter

 These fermenters uses a combination of batch and continuous reactions. In

these reactors additional nutrients are added progressively to the reactor as the
bioreactions are underway so as to obtain better yields and higher selectivity
along with controlling the reaction temperature
 The products are harvested at the end of the production cycle as in a batch
bioreactor.
 Semi-batch reactors are stabler and perform safer operations than in a batch
Advantages:

 In this there is a rapid increase of biomass.

 It achieve higher product quantities.
 There is the control of microbial growth rate, bioactive metabolites, and
limitation of oxygen transfer by inlet feeding rate.

Disadvantages:

 Allows building of inhibitory agents and toxins.

 Provides another point of ingress for contamination.
 Difficult to control

4. Primary Fermenter:

The bucket or other container that holds the beer during the primary fermentation
is called as primary fermenter.
6. Lactose Fermenter:

The lactose in the agar is a source of fermentation. In Lactose-fermenter

microorganisms will produce organic acids, particularly lactic acid, which will
lower the pH.

Lactose fermenter will produce acidic byproducts that lower the pH, and this turns
the pH indicator to pink.

Applications of Fermenters:

 Production of pharmaceuticals (e.g. insulin, vaccines, antibiotics)

 Food and beverages (bread, yogurt, and alcoholic fermentation, e.g. in beer
and wine)
 Biofuels
  Chemicals (e.g. detergents)
 Amino acids (e.g. glutamate)
 Biological wastewater purification

Types of Bioreactors:

Bioreactor is defined as a vessel that carries out a biological reaction and is used to
culture aerobic cells for conducting cellular or enzymatic immobilization.
An apparatus for growing organisms (yeast, bacteria, or animal cells) under
controlled conditions. Used in industrial processes to produce pharmaceuticals,
vaccines, or antibodies. Also used to convert raw materials into useful byproducts
such as in the bioconversion of corn into ethanol.

Purpose of Bioreactor:
The main purpose of a properly designed bioreactor is to provide a controlled
environment to achieve optimal growth and/or product formation in the particular
cell system employed.
Basic Principle of Bioreactor:
Bioreactors consist of a large chamber where biochemical reactions occur in
controlled environmental conditions to obtain important biological compounds.
Main Parts of Bioreactor:
 Aeration tubes
 Agitator assemblies
 Stirrer motors
 Baffles
 Stands
 Headplates
  Adapters
 Condensers
 Thermowells
 Harvest tubes
 Sampling tubes
 Heat exchangers
 Spargers
 Stoppers and o-rings.

Types of Bioreactors:
 Continuous Stirred Tank Bioreactor
 Rotatory drum tank bioreactor
 Airlift Bioreactor
 Fluidized Bed Bioreactor
 Packed Bed Bioreactor
 Photobioreactor
 Membrane Bioreactor
 Bubble Column Bioreactor

1. Stir tank bioreactor:

It consists of a cylindrical vessel which is occupied with a motor driven central

shaft which supports one or more impellers. Shaft is present at the bottom of the
bioreactor. The air provided to the culture medium is through the sparger.
 In Continuous Stirred Tank Bioreactor, the contents of the vessel no longer vary
with time, this applies to the hold up of micro-organisms and the concentration
of the components of the medium in the bioreactor. Steady state conditions can
be achieved either  Chemo static or Turbidostatic principles.
 The chemo-static principle involves the adjustment of the flow rate of the
bioreactor to an appropriate and constant value and allowing the micro-
organisms, substrates, and biochemical product concentration to attain their
natural levels.
 The turbidostatic principle requires an experimental determination of the
turbidity. This thus used to control the flow rate. Both these methods have been
employed in practice, though the former is obviously the simpler from every
viewpoint.

Advantages:

1. Continuous operation
2. Good temperature control
3. Easily adapts to two phase runs
4. Good control
5. Simplicity of construction
6. Low operating (labor) cost
7. Easy to clean

Disadvantages

1. The need for shaft seals and bearings.

2. Size limitation by motor size, shaft length and weight

2. Rotatory drum tank bioreactor:

 Bed of bioreactor is mixed either continuously or intermittently and air is

circulated through head space of the bed.
 Consist of a cylindrical drum lying horizontally. Drum is partially filled with a
bed of substrate and air is blown through headspace.
 The drum rotates around the central axis to mix the bed. Intermittent mixing
bioreactor operates like a tray bioreactor during static period and like a
continuous rotating bioreactor during period of rotation.
 It is necessary to limit the height of substrate bed in order to achieve good O₂
and CO₂. It also might include the use of baffles.
 In this, the drum is filled with 40% of its volume and rotated by means of
rollers. It is particularly suitable for the cultivation of the plant cell cultures.

3. Bubble column bioreactor:

The reactors can be deployed to manufacture environmentally benign synthetic
fuels such as methanol. These are more advantageous over petroleum-derived
fuels. They call for little maintenance and low operating costs due to lack of
moving parts and compactness. Bubble column reactors are preferred choice for
high durability of the catalyst or other packing material, online catalyst addition
and withdrawal ability.

Construction and working:

The bubble column reactor is one of the simplest types of reactors, which is easy to
scale-up. The reactor comprises of a cylindrical vessel provided with a gas sparger,
which pushes gas bubbles into a liquid phase or a liquid-solid suspension.

Although the construction of bubble columns is simple, efficient design and scale-
up require an improved understanding of multiphase fluid dynamics and its
influences. Their design depends on the three main phenomena.
1. Heat transfer
2. Mass transfer & mixing characteristics and
3. Chemical kinetics of the reacting system
4. Airlift Bioreactor (ALB)

This kind of fermenter works on the principle of an air lift pump. It is of two
kinds: 
1. Internal loop type
2. External loop type.
 The reactor's volume is determined by its capacity, kinetic data, and specific
growth rate of the organism used. The rate of airflow of the reactor depends on
the volumetric mass transfer coefficient in the reactor system. It is a
uniform cylindrical cross type and has an internal loop or external loop riser
configuration.

Working:
 Air flows up the riser tube, forming bubbles, and exhaust gas is released
from the top of the column. The degassed liquid then flows through
downcomer and the product is emptied from the bottom of the tank. The
downcomer tube can be designed to serve as an internal heat exchanger, or a
heat exchanger can be added to an internal circulation loop

 Sparging is done either inside or outside the draft tube. In absence of

agitation, the reactor requires low energy making it an energy efficient
system. ALBs have increased mass transfer as enhanced oxygen solubility is
achieved in large tanks with controlled flow and efficient mixing with good
residence time.
Advantages:

 Simple design with no moving parts or agitator for less maintenance.

 Easier sterilization (no agitator shaft parts)
 Low Energy requirement as compared to stir tanks
5. Packed bed bioreactor:
Packed-bed bioreactors are tubular types of reactors which are packed with
immobilized enzyme or microbial cells as biocatalysts. Different techniques such
as encapsulation, cross-linking, covalent bonding, and adsorption are generally
used for immobilization purposes

Construction:
The reactors necessarily constitute a bed of packings, made of polymer, ceramic,
glass, natural material, and available in a variety of shapes and sizes that allows
fluids to flow from one end to the other.

The immobilized biocatalyst is packed in the column and fed with nutrients either
from top or from bottom. Fluid comprising of dissolved nutrient and substrate
flows through the solid bed.

Working:

 The fluid flow rate and residence time are controlled to increase or decrease
substrate contact with the bed. The packed-bed compartment located either
external to, or within, the reservoir of the medium
 Packed beds can either be run in the submerged mode (with or without aeration)
or in the trickle flow mode. The flow velocities in the channels can be high to
eliminate external mass transfer limitation in the adjacent liquid film.
Simultaneously, plugging can be avoided, although at the cost of high pressure
drop .
 Undesired properties of these reactors include poor temperature control, heat
gradients,
 unwanted side reactions and difficulty in replacing catalyst. They also suffer
from blockages and poor oxygen transfer. Changes in the bed porosity during
operation alter the flow characteristics of these reactors.
 These are generally used in wastewater engineering.

Advantages:

1. Higher conversion per unit mass of catalyst than other catalytic reactors
2. Low operating cost
3. Continuous operation
4. No moving parts to wear out
5. Catalyst stays in the reactor
6. Reaction mixture/catalyst separation is easy
7. Design is simple
8. Effective at high temperatures and pressures
Disadvantages:

1. Undesired heat gradients

2. Poor temperature control
3. Difficult to clean
4. Difficult to replace catalyst
 5. Undesirable side reactions

6. Fluidized bed bioreactors:

Fluidized bed reactors (FBRs) constitute packed bed with smaller size particles.
Thus, the problems of clogging, high liquid pressure drop, channeling and bed
compaction are prevented as compared to packed bed reactors.

Working:

 These reactors operate in a continuous state with uniform particle mixing and
temperature gradients. In these reactors, the cells are immobilized small
particles which move with the fluid. The smaller particle size facilitates higher
rate of mass transfer, oxygen transfer and nutrients to the cells.
 The biocatalyst concentration can significantly be higher and washout
limitations of free cell systems can be overcome
 In this reactor, the cross-section area is expanded near the top to reduce
superficial velocity of fluidizing liquid to a value below the terminal velocity of
the particles to prevent elutriation.
.
Advantages:

1. Uniform Particle Mixing: .

2. Uniform Temperature Gradients
3. Ability to Operate Reactor in Continuous State.

7. Membrane Bioreactor

Membrane bioreactors successfully applied to various microbial bioconversions

such as alcoholic fermentation, solvents, organic acid production, wastewater
treatment, etc.
Working:

In membrane bioreactor the soluble enzyme and substrate are introduced on one
side of ultrafilter membrane by means of a pump. product is forced out through the
membrane. membrane holds back the enzyme. good mixing in the reactor can be
achieved by using a stirrer.
The most widely used membrane materials includes polysulfonte, polyamide and
cellulose acetate.

Advantages of Membrane Bioreactor:

1. The loss of enzyme is reduced.
2. Enzyme lost by denaturation can be make up by periodic addition of enzymes
3. Substrate and enzyme can be easily replaced.
8. Photobioreactors:

 These are the bioreactors specialized for fermentation that can be carried out
either by exposing to sunlight or artificial illumination.
 Since artificial illumination is expensive, only the outdoor photo-bioreactors
are preferred.
 Certain important compounds are produced by employing photo-bioreactors
e.g., p-carotene, astaxanthin.
Construction:
They are made up of glass or more commonly transparent plastic. The array of
tubes or flat panels constitute light receiving systems (solar receivers).

Working:
The culture can be circulated through the solar receivers by methods such as using
centrifugal pumps or airlift pumps. It is essential that the cells are in continuous
circulation without forming sediments.
Further adequate penetration of sunlight should be maintained. The tubes should
also be cooled to prevent rise in temperature.
Photo-bioreactors are usually operated in a continuous mode at a temperature in
the range of 25-40°C. Microalgae and cyanobacteria are normally used. The
organisms grow during day light while the products are produced during night.

Advantages:

1. Cultivation of algae is in controlled circumstances.

2. Large surface-to-volume ratio
3. Better control of gas transfer.
 4. Reduction in evaporation of growth medium.
5. More uniform temperature.
6. Better protection from outside contamination.
7. Space saving – Can be mounted vertically, horizontally or at an angle,
indoors or outdoors.
8. Reduced Fouling – Recently available tube self-cleaning mechanisms can
dramatically reduce fouling.

Disadvantages:

1. Capital cost is very high. This is one of the most important bottlenecks that
is hindering the progress of algae fuel industry.
2. The technical difficulty in sterilizing these photobioreactors has hindered
their application for algae culture for specific end-products such as high value
pharmaceutical products.
REFERENCES:

1. The SciTech journal ISSN 2347-7318 ISSN 2348-2311

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/stirred-tank-bioreactors

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disadvantages-of-bioreactors/

4. https://www.biologydiscussion.com/bioreactors/bioreactors-types-top-3-types-
of-bioreactors/12213

5.https://www.freepatentsonline.com/7628528.html#:~:text=Abstract%3A,device
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6.. https://bioprocessing.weebly.com/types-of-fermenters.html