Design of Ideal Bioreactors

This chapter focuses on the design of different types of industrially important ideal bioreactors, namely the ideal stirred tank reactor (STR) and the ideal plug flow reactor (PFR). The fundamental disciplines of stoichiometry, biochemical kinetics, and thermodynamics are combined to design reactors in which the processes can be carried out at any scale. The chapter describes different ways of operating steady-state continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) with maximum volumetric productivity as an important objective. The advantage of using biomass recirculation and of operating with several reactors in parallel or in series is discussed. Next, the chapter talks about fed-batch operation, and compares this mode of operation with steady-state CSTR. Finally, the design of an industrially important process, the production of succinic acid from glucose in several reactor types, is used as an example.