Characterization of a new fine bubbles generator for bioprocess application

• Grant number: 21/06659-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Alberto Colli Badino Junior
• Grantee: Rauber Daniel Pereira
• Supervisor: Adel M. Al-Taweel
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Dalhousie University, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/24460-4 - Microbubbles generation in pneumatic bioreactors: application in extractive ethanol fermentation using carbon dioxide as stripping gas, BP.DR

Abstract

This proposal of international cooperation is within the frames of the Ph.D. thesis entitled "Microbubbles Generation in Pneumatic Bioreactors: Application in Extractive Ethanol Fermentation Using Carbon Dioxide as Stripping Gas" in execution through the FAPESP grant 2018/24460-4. We aim to develop this proposal in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Adel M. Al-Taweel from the Dalhousie University, Halifax - NS, Canada. This international research internship has the objective of characterizing and applying a new system of generating small-sized bubbles, based on the principle of oscillatory gas flow through conventional spargers, proposed in the current Ph.D. thesis in execution. This new apparatus, denominated Fine-Micro Bubbles Generator (FMBG), has presented satisfactory results regarding the increase of mass transfer coefficients both in the aeration and stripping process using the 10 L bubble column bioreactor. However, these are not enough for the characterization of the FMBG system. So, it is needed a precise measurement of the mean bubble diameter and the gas hold-up under different operation conditions. Moreover, since the final proposed application of this new system aims at the stripping process in the bioethanol industry, the assessment of the FMBG system performance in bioreactors larger than 10 L is essential. The expertise of Prof. Adel M. Al-Taweel in the field of process engineering, the methodologies for measuring bubble size and gas hold-up developed by his research group, and the facilities of Dalhousie University will enable the accomplishment of the objectives of this proposal. The FMBG system performance will be evaluated in a 173 L bioreactor, regarding the mean bubble diameter, gas hold-up, and volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa), under different conditions of operation such as oscillation frequencies, liquid column height, and contaminants concentration. This characterization is essential for any attempt to scale-up the process. (AU)