Liquid phase bioreactor – Fermentor – Fermenter

Pro-mill’s liquid phase bioreactor is a compact system built on a SKID frame designed to carry out biotechnology processes on liquid substrates on a scale from laboratory to industrial. For this reason, fermenters are widely used in the biotechnology, cosmetics and food industries. Due to the nature of the processes carried out, the fermenter must remain sterile to eliminate the possibility of infection, and must be equipped with an advanced system for measuring and regulating process parameters.

It is also worth mentioning that there are three names that define these devices:

• Fermentors,
• Fermenters,
• Bioreactors.

Each name is synonymous. The terms “bioreactor” and “fermenter” are used much more often than “fermenters”. Nevertheless, all names are substitutable.

The heart of the system is the bioreactor equipped with the necessary control and measurement apparatus – sensors of pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, pressure and foam level. The construction of the fermenter has been designed to eliminate the existence of dead zones, which may cause problems during the process. The interior of the bioreactor is polished to a mirror shine (metal sheet surface, welds, wave breakers and stirrer), which greatly facilitates cleaning and sterilization.

The fermentor must have a good degree of mixing of its contents. In biotechnology, the Rushton turbine is most often used – a stirrer consisting of a horizontal disc and vertically mounted blades. Several agitators can be mounted on one shaft. In order to increase the mixing power, the baffles inside the tank are also used.

The media supply system is an integral part of the bioreactor. It includes a number of subsystems such as: sterile gas supply line; thermostat and steam sterilization system; nutrient solution and inoculum dosing system; pH and foam level control system; and finally cleaning in Clean-In-Place system. Like the fermenter, the system has no hard-to-clean areas, allows complete drainage of the system and is adapted to CIP and SIP systems. As standard, the bioreactor housing is equipped with viewfinders, sight glasses and flashlights, the number and location of which depends on the customer’s needs.

The automatic control system allows for any programming of the process and monitoring of the current values of measured parameters. It is possible to implement the fermenter in the existing technological line or supervision from an external SCADA system. The control cabinet is equipped with a large, easy-to-read touch screen display with a built-in PLC enabling the tracking of graphs and process parameters.

Bioreactors manufactured by Pro-mill can be adapted to individual customer needs.

Liquid phase bioreactors functions:

• Sterile oxygen and oxygen-free processes
• Design adapted to the process
• Temperature, pH, pressure control
• Necessary control and measuring equipment
• Aeration system
• Foam elimination system
• Adapted for CIP/SIP
• Control from the PLC
• Archiving, communication with SCADA