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Gas holdup and liquid velocity in airlift bioreactors containing viscous newtonian liquids

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Abstract

Gas holdup and liquid circulation velocity meassurements were made for a range of liquid viscosities in a 22 l external loop airlift column and 250 l pilot-scale concentric cylinder airlift bioreactor. The results showed that for a fixed superficial gas velocity, liquid circulation velocity decreased monotonically with increasing liquid viscosity. The gas holdup for a fixed gas flow rate showed an initial increase with liquid viscosity followed by a decrease when liquid viscosity increased beyond a critical value. These observations could not be described satisfactorily using the available models of gas holdup and liquid circulation.

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Abbreviations

U sg m/s:

Superficial gas velocity

U sl m/s:

Superficial liquid velocity in the riser

μ Pas:

Liquid viscosity

ɛ g :

Gas holdup in the riser

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, WCIE 7JE, London, UK

    J. Rajarajan, D. Pollard, A. P. Ison & P. Ayazi Shamlou

Authors
  1. J. Rajarajan
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  2. D. Pollard
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  3. A. P. Ison
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  4. P. Ayazi Shamlou
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Rajarajan, J., Pollard, D., Ison, A.P. et al. Gas holdup and liquid velocity in airlift bioreactors containing viscous newtonian liquids. Bioprocess Engineering 14, 311–315 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369475

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00369475

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