This Demonstration shows the influence of gassing rate and stirrer speed on an enzymatic aerated reactor. The transfer coefficient is a function of and .
The solubility of oxygen in aqueous solutions at ambient temperature and pressure is only between 8 and 10 ppm. This amount of oxygen is quickly consumed in aerobic cultures and must be constantly replaced by sparging (bubbling air through the liquid) [1].
The transfer coefficient varies with and according to:
with .
The model that includes reaction kinetics and mass balances is described in [2].
References
[1] P. M. Doran, Bioprocess Engineering Principles, Boston: Elsevier, 1995.
[2] I. J. Dunn, E. Heinzle, J. Ingham and J. E. Přenosil, Biological Reaction Engineering, 2nd ed., Weinheim, Germany: VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2003.