415
411 417
412 418
413 419
414 420
415 421
416 422
417 423
418 424
419 425
Agitator Design for Gas–Liquid Fermenters and Bioreactors
Gregory T. Benz
Benz Technology International, Inc.,Clarksville, OH, USA
Copyright © 2021 by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Joint Publication of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Gregory T. Benz to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Office John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
Editorial Office John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty In view of ongoing research, equipment modifications, changes in governmental regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to the use of experimental reagents, equipment, and devices, the reader is urged to review and evaluate the information provided in the package insert or instructions for each chemical, piece of equipment, reagent, or device for, among other things, any changes in the instructions or indication of usage and for added warnings and precautions. While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials, or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Benz, Gregory T., author.
Title: Agitator design for gas–liquid fermenters and bioreactors / Gregory T. Benz, Benz Technology International, Inc., Ohio, US.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020051152 (print) | LCCN 2020051153 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119650492 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119650508 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119650539 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Bioreactors–Equipment and supplies. | Fermentation–Equipment and supplies. | Mixing machinery–Design and construction. | Gas‐liquid interfaces.
Classification: LCC TP248.25.B55 B46 2021 (print) | LCC TP248.25.B55 (ebook) | DDC 660/.28449–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051152 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020051153
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: courtesy of the Author
I dedicate this book to my late father‐in‐law, Richard Durchholz, for inspiring me as an engineer and a person; to Wayne Ramsey, for mentoring me and giving me the opportunity to design the largest fermenters built by Chemineer up to that point; to Ms. Jian Li, my colleague and friend, for helping me to succeed in managing the China office and understanding Chinese culture, and my wife, Kim Benz, for encouraging me and supporting me in the massive undertaking of writing this book.
Preface
This is a book about fluid agitation, as applied to gas–liquid systems such as fermenters or bioreactors (We will use those terms interchangeably in this text.). The specific focus is on mechanically agitated systems, consisting of a closed vessel with a rotating shaft and impellers, as this is the most common and versatile way to achieve process objectives in a gas–liquid system. Though airlift and bubble columns have also been used, they will not be discussed in any detail here, as that is not the focus of this book.
Many books have been written about fluid agitation. Many books have also been written about fermentation. Much, though not all, of the material in this book has been covered in such books. However, all such books cover much more than agitator design for bioreactors. For example, typical books on agitation cover topics such as solids suspension (almost never an issue in fermentation), highly viscous systems (>50 000 cP), specialized impellers such as helical ribbons, anchors, augers, and others that have no use in fermenters, mixing in high‐yield stress fluids such as paper stock, etc. Likewise, books on fermenter design usually cover some topics on agitator design but also cover feeding strategies, reaction kinetics, cell metabolism, sensitivity to concentration and temperature changes, product recovery, and a whole host of other topics. Little has been published in such books about how to acquire the proper pilot data for agitator design, or how to minimize energy consumption.
The main purpose of this book is to be a single‐source reference on all the major issues related to agitator design for bioreactors. It is intended to save the reader time by avoiding the need to consult multiple references or sift through many pages of text to find what is needed specifically for fermenter agitator design. This book will also cover important related topics such as heat transfer, power cost, basic agitator mechanical design, and vendor bid evaluation.
Though