Abstract
Fermentation technology has gained tremendous importance in a few decades due to its vast applicative fields. One of the main reasons behind this development is the discovery of bioreactors, also called fermenters. These are vessels in which the biotransformation takes place, whether it is a cell-free or cell-mediated transformation. The main purpose of a bioreactor is to provide optimum conditions for the transformation to take place. Bioreactors are generally cylindrical in shape but the design could be modified according to the process requirement. Different types of bioreactors are made depending on the process. For bacterial cultures, regularly stirred tank reactors are used, but for mammalian cultures, bubble column or airlift reactors are preferred due to their low shear force. The material of construction of the bioreactor is also dependent on its application. Commonly, stainless steel of different grades is used but, in some wine-making processes, reactors made of wood are preferred. The basic parts of a bioreactor include an agitator for mixing, a sparger for aeration, and different probes for sensing different parameters like pH, dissolved oxygen, in some cases product concentration. These components also differ from reactor to reactor depending on the process. A bioreactor can be operated in batch, fed-batch, or continuous mode as per the requirement of the process, and these operating modes also define the structure and complexity of the bioreactors. In this chapter, the structure, design, and potential applicative fields of different bioreactors/fermenters are discussed.
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Patil, P.B., Sarkar, A. (2024). Bioreactor Configurations for Fermentation Processes. In: Dhagat, S., Jujjavarapu, S.E., Sampath Kumar, N., Mahapatra, C. (eds) Recent Advances in Bioprocess Engineering and Bioreactor Design. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-1451-3_6
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