Comparative investigation of fine bubble and macrobubbleaeration on gas utility and biotransformation productivity
Citation Link: https://doi.org/10.15480/882.3238
Publikationstyp
Journal Article
Date Issued
2021
Sprache
English
TORE-DOI
TORE-URI
Volume
118
Issue
1
Start Page
130
End Page
141
Citation
Biotechnology and Bioengineering 1 (118): 130-141 (2021)
Publisher DOI
Scopus ID
PubMed ID
32886350
The sufficient provision of oxygen is mandatory for enzymatic oxidations in aqueous solution, however, in process optimization this still is a bottleneck that cannot be overcome with the established methods of macrobubble aeration. Providing higher mass transfer performance through microbubble aerators, inefficient aeration can be overcome or improved. Investigating the mass transport performance in a model protein solution, the microbubble aeration results in higher kLa values related to the applied airstream in comparison with macrobubble aeration. Comparing the aerators at identical kLa of 160 and 60 1/h, the microbubble aeration is resulting in 25 and 44 times enhanced gas utility compared with aeration with macrobubbles. To prove the feasibility of microbubbles in biocatalysis, the productivity of a glucose oxidase catalyzed biotransformation is compared with macrobubble aeration as well as the gas-saving potential. In contrast to the expectation that the same productivities are achieved at identically applied kLa, microbubble aeration increased the gluconic acid productivity by 32% and resulted in 41.6 times higher oxygen utilization. The observed advantages of microbubble aeration are based on the large volume-specific interfacial area combined with a prolonged residence time, which results in a high mass transfer performance, less enzyme deactivation by foam formation, and reduced gas consumption. This makes microbubble aerators favorable for application in biocatalysis.
Subjects
aeration technology
gas utilization
glucose oxidase
microbubbles
multiphase reaction
DDC Class
600: Technik
Funding(s)
More Funding Information
We are grateful for the financial support provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the combined project LI 899/10-1 and SCHL 617/14-1.
Publication version
publishedVersion