Optimization of oxygen mass transfer in a multiphase bioreactor with perfluorodecalin as a second liquid phase

Abstract

Oxygenation is an important parameter involved in the design and operation of mixing–sparging bioreactors and it can be analyzed by means of the oxygen mass transfer coefficient (k_La). The operational conditions of a stirred, submerged aerated 2‐L bioreactor have been optimized by studying the influence of a second liquid phase with higher oxygen affinity (perfluorodecalin or olive oil) in the k_La. Using k_La measurements, the influence of the following parameters on the oxygen transfer rate was evaluated: the volume of working medium, the type of impellers and their position, the organic phase concentration, the aqueous phase composition, and the concentration of inactive biomass. This study shows that the best experimental conditions were achieved with a perfluorodecalin volume fraction of 0.20, mixing using two Rushton turbines with six vertical blades and in the presence of YPD medium as the aqueous phase, with a k_La value of 64.6 h⁻¹. The addition of 20% of perfluorodecalin in these conditions provided a k_La enhancement of 25% when pure water was the aqueous phase and a 230% enhancement when YPD medium was used in comparison to their respective controls (no perfluorodecalin). Furthermore it is shown that the presence of olive oil as a second liquid phase is not beneficial to the oxygen transfer rate enhancement, leading to a decrease in the k_La values for all the concentrations studied. It was also observed that the magnitude of the enhancement of the k_La values by perfluorodecalin depends on the biomass concentration present. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2008;99: 588–598.