Oxygen Transfer in Stirred Fermentors

Oxygen transfer in stirred fermentors is essential for aerobic fermentation. Microbes need oxygen for growth and for making useful products. This can be difficult because air contains only about 20% oxygen, and oxygen dissolves poorly in water. At 20°C, its solubility is only about 9 ppm. In some high-demand processes, such ...

In bioreactors, oxygen is essential for aerobic fermentations.

Broth saturated with oxygen can supply it only briefly to highly aerobic organisms.

To improve oxygen availability, sterile or filtered air is injected under pressure through a sparger located below the lowest impeller.

The sparger holes must be small enough to crea...