Abstract
A 15-litre bench-top multipurpose bioreactor was designed and constructed. The vessel is a glass type with a stainless flat headplate incorporating 9 access ports allowing for a variety of interchangeable probes and actuators. The stirring speed ranges between 0 and 250 rpm, the aeration rate (0-2 l/m), the pH control loop uses HI 1131 probe, two 100 ml bottles of HCl and NaOH solutions and operates a close feedback system. The temperature control module is a close loop using a PT 100 RTD thermocouple and an auxiliary vessel containing a cooling solution. The aeration and feed flow rates are open loops. The system incorporates attributes of a good bioreactor design as discussed by Naraendranathan (1998). Sterility is achieved by autoclaving different units of the system. This machine has been tested on an array of local standard fermentation processes.
Highlights
Bioreactors offer a possibility to provide an optimally controlled environment for microbial fermentation processes, a condition required for optimal yield (Williams, 2002)
Process control through bioreactor in submerged cultures is based on the measurement of physical, chemical and biochemical properties of the broth, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, agitation rate and others, using dedicated probes followed by the manipulation of the physicochemical properties of the culture with suitable actuators (Lim and Lee, 1991)
The cooling water for bioreactor is stored in an auxiliary vessel having 10 litres capacity, this could be substituted with larger capacity vessel while operating a highly exothermic fermentation process
Summary
Constructional features of a 15-litre home-made bioreactor for fed-batch fermentations. A 15-litre bench-top multipurpose bioreactor was designed and constructed. The stirring speed ranges between 0 and 250 rpm, the aeration rate (0-2 l/m), the pH control loop uses HI 1131 probe, two 100 ml bottles of HCl and NaOH solutions and operates a close feedback system. The temperature control module is a close loop using a PT 100 RTD thermocouple and an auxiliary vessel containing a cooling solution. The system incorporates attributes of a good bioreactor design as discussed by Naraendranathan (1998). Sterility is achieved by autoclaving different units of the system. This machine has been tested on an array of local standard fermentation processes
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