Nonmechanically Agitated Bioreactors

Abstract

Bubble column and airlift reactors are normally the first choice in many applications, especially ones involving biomaterials. Their popularity is essentially related to the simple design, nonmechanical agitation, and satisfactory heat and mass transfer properties. However, problems related to poor mixing, scale-up, product quality, and process reproducibility are typically reported. To overcome some of these limitations, oscillatory flow reactors (OFR) have been studied. These reactors, located on the frontier of mechanically and nonmechanically agitator reactors, will be explored in this chapter. The following sections present the two most common reactors (bubble column and airlift) used in bioprocesses as well as OFRs, highlighting the advantages and limitations of these reactors and their possible contribution to future developments in biotechnology and bioengineering.