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The effect of Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, a hydrocarbon-metabolising organism, on gas holdup in a 4-phase bubble column bioprocess

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Abstract

To design bioprocesses utilising hydrocarbon-metabolising organisms (HMO) as biocatalysts, the effect of the organism on the hydrodynamics of bubble column reactor (BCR), such as gas holdup, needs to be investigated. Therefore, this study investigates the first use of an HMO, Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, as a solid phase in the operation and hydrodynamics of a BCR. The study investigated the gas holdup in 3-phase and 4-phase systems in a BCR under ranges of superficial gas velocities (UG) from 1 to 3 cm/s, hydrocarbon (chain length C13-21) concentrations (HC) of 0, 5, and 10% v/v and microbial concentrations (MC) of 0, 0.35, 0.6 g/l. The results indicated that UG was the most significant parameter, as gas holdup increases linearly with increasing UG from 1 to 3 cm/s. Furthermore, the addition of hydrocarbons into the air-deionized water -SK2 system showed the highest increase in the gas holdup, particularly at high UG (above 2 cm/s). The solids (yeast, cornflour, and SK2) phases had differing effects on gas holdup, potentially due to the difference in surface activity. In this work, SK2 addition caused a reduction in the fluid surface tension in the bioprocess which therefore resulted in an increase in the gas holdup in BCR. This work builds upon previous investigations in optimising the hydrodynamics for bubble column hydrocarbon bioprocesses for the application of alkane bioactivation.

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Data availability

The data generated and analysed during this study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BCR:

Bubble column reactor

\({\varepsilon }_{G}\) :

Gas holdup

Ho :

Height of the liquid in the column before aeration

H:

Height of the liquid during steady-state aeration

HMO:

Hydrocarbon-metabolising organisms

H C :

Hydrocarbon concentration

M C :

Microbial concentration

STR:

Stirred tank reactor

U G :

Superficial gas velocity

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Acknowledgements

Part of this work was performed in the School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, the UK, and was supported by a University of East Anglia Global Challenges Research Fellowship. The remaining work was performed in the Department of Process Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and was financially supported by the Centre of Excellent in Catalysis (c*change), and Stellenbosch University. A. Curson and D. Lea-Smith acknowledge support from Human Frontier Science Program grant RGP0031.

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  1. Department of Process Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa

    Ayman A. Abufalgha & Robert W. M. Pott

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    Ayman A. Abufalgha, Andrew R. J. Curson & David J. Lea-Smith

  3. DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Catalysis (C* Change), Rondebosch, South Africa

    Ayman A. Abufalgha, Andrew R. J. Curson, David J. Lea-Smith & Robert W. M. Pott

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Abufalgha, A.A., Curson, A.R.J., Lea-Smith, D.J. et al. The effect of Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, a hydrocarbon-metabolising organism, on gas holdup in a 4-phase bubble column bioprocess. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 46, 635–644 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-023-02849-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-023-02849-6

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