Development of the Travelling Wave Bioreactor. Part I: Design Studies Based on Numerical Models

Abstract

AbstractIn the travelling wave bioreactor (TWB) an orbital movement is used to set up a quasi‐periodic wave motion in the partially filled, toroidal shaped vessel. Based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, this study presents detailed analyses of the fluid flow in the TWB for a wide range of operational conditions. Even though the wave propagation is shown to be greatly influenced by the rotation, it was found that the regular vessel shape facilitates a predominantly tangential flow with low back mixing, irrespective of the operational conditions. Hence, the influence of different bioreactor geometries without and with baffles is examined. The study indicates that CFD models can be used as a valuable tool for bioreactor development, because it provides a deep insight into the bioreactor's hydrodynamics and can help to reduce the number of prototypes.