Effect of longitudinal mixing on microbial growth in a multi‐stage column bioreactor

Abstract

AbstractThe performance of a multi‐stage column bioreactor for nonlimited microbial growth was studied. The back‐flow model was employed to describe the flow pattern of the microbial suspension. Analytical solutions for calculating the microbial cell concentrations under steady‐state and unsteady‐state operations, with and without cells in feed, were obtained and the cell growth behavior was examined. Only when microbial cells were present in the feed and the reaction number was less than a critical number was a stable steady state achieved: the microbial cell concentration was then significantly affected by the extent of longitudinal mixing. In the absence of microorganisms in the feed, the steady state was not stable with either washout or nonlimited growth resulting.