ImoYeast: characterisation of a cellulose-based support for yeast cell immobilisation, and bioreactor design and scale-up for alcohol fermentation

Autor(es)

de Araujo, Thiago Machado ; Barga, Marcelo Calide ; da Cunha, Marcel Menezes Lyra ; Dragone, Giuliano Marcelo ; Mussatto, Solange Ines ; Basso, Thiago Olitta ; dos Santos, Julio Cesar

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering; v. N/A, p. 9-pg., 2025-05-14.

Resumo

The alcohol fermentation process using immobilised yeast cells typically involves the evaluation of support mechanical characteristics, reactor engineering, cell physiology, and process operation conditions. While the literature often presents attempts for continuous fermentation processes with immobilised cells, our study introduces a cellulose-based immobilisation support and bioreactor system designed for use in batch operation mode. This article discusses the hydrodynamic and porosimetric features of the ImoYeast support and outlines the design and scale-up strategies of the bioreactor system in which it can be employed (ImoYeast bioreactor). Hydrodynamic evaluation in fluidisation mode and porosimetry of the support yielded the following parameters: minimum fluidisation velocity (U-mf) of 6.96 cm.s(-1), particle density (rho(S)) of 1.44 g.mL(-1), and Brunauer-Emmet-Taller (BET) surface area of 4.12 m(2).g(-1). In fixed-bed regime, hydrodynamic parameters were bed porosity (epsilon) of 0.884, pressure drop (Delta P) of 10.35 g.cm(-1).s(-2), and porous medium Reynolds number (Re,(PM)) of 716.8 at superficial liquid velocity (U) of 0.92 cm.s(-1). The height-to-diameter ratio (H/D) of the fixed-bed reactor adhered to the design proportion of similar to 4. The developed ImoYeast support and bioreactor configuration offer new opportunities for implementing yeast cell immobilisation in the alcohol fermentation industry, expanding the application of batch processes with fixed-bed bioreactors. Physical and hydrodynamic properties of the ImoYeast matrix support its suitability for application in bioprocesses even in large-scale. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 22/01552-6 - Desenvolvimento de um biorreator com Saccharomyces cerevisiae imobilizadas para produção de cerveja: fisiologia e modelagem matemática
• Beneficiário: Thiago Machado de Araujo
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado