Hydrodynamics and Mass Transfer Characteristics of Mycelial Fermentation Broths in a Novel Bubble Column

Abstract

Mycelium broths tend to have a non-Newtonian fluid behavior as the biomass concentration increases during the fermentation. Non-Newtonian behavior of fermentation broths has very significant effects on the performance of bioreactor. Such rheological behavior of mycelial cultures has usually been simulated by aqueous solutions of the certain polymers such as car boxy methyl cellulose (CMC), polyacrylamide (PAA), and polyethyleneoxide (PEO). However, since fermentation broths are heterogeneous and their characteristics are more complex than those of homogeneous polymer solutions and is heterogeneous, the results obtained with homogeneous polymer solutions -may be significantly different from actual fermentation systems. Although some investigators have studied the influence of non-Newtonian flow on oxygen transfer in real fermentation broths [1-3], more information for bioreactor design is in need.