Experimental and computational studies of oxygen transport in a Taylor-Couette bioreactor

摘要

Graphical abstractOxygen mass transfer and axial dispersion in the Taylor-Couette bioreactor were investigated by experimental and simulation studies to determine the concentration profiles associated with trapped bubbles in the Taylor vortices under different Reynolds numbers.Display OmittedHighlights?The Taylor-Couette device was proposed to be used as a bioreactor.?Mass transfer in Taylor-Couette bioreactor was studied by experiments/CFD simulations.?Oxygen transport from different surfaces was studied.?Oxygen transport can be maximized with the trapped bubbles in the Taylor vortices.AbstractWith research and development for almost one century, the Taylor-Couette device is now applied in many practical applications such as reaction, filtration, extraction and bioreactor. We intend to use the Taylor-Couette bioreactor to culture cells that are seeded in a biodegradable porous scaffold. Oxygen concentration is always the most significant constraint in a bioreactor and can limit the cell proliferation rate. It is therefore important to know the mass transfer phenomenon and oxygen transport pattern inside the system. In this study, the equilibrium oxygen concentrations at different Reynolds numbers and operation conditions were measured and the mass transfer coefficients were also calculated. CFD simulation was carried out to compare with the experimental results. Both experimental and simulation results showed that the equilibrium oxygen concentration and mass transfer coefficient increased with Reynolds number. To further improve the mass transfer efficiency, air bubble was introduced to the bottom of the rotating inner cylinder and the vortex center. It was shown that the mass transfer coefficient of oxygen could be significantly increased with the trapped bubble.]]>