title: Determining the effect of solid and liquid vectors on the gaseous interfacial area and oxygen transfer rates in two-phase partitioning bioreactors.
abstract: The effect of liquid and solid transfer vectors (silicone oil and Desmopan, respectively) on the gaseous interfacial area (a(g)) was evaluated in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) using fresh mineral salt medium and the cultivation broth of a toluene degradation culture (Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E cultures continuously cultivated with and without silicone oil at low toluene loading rates). Higher values of a(g) were recorded in the presence of both silicone oil and Desmopan compared to the values obtained in the absence of a vector, regardless of the aqueous medium tested (1.6 and 3 times higher, respectively, using fresh mineral salt medium). These improvements in a(g) were well correlated to the oxygen mass transfer enhancements supported by the vectors (1.3 and 2.5 for liquid and solid vectors, respectively, using fresh medium). In this context, oxygen transfer rates of 2.5 g O(2)L(-1)h(-1) and 1.3 g O(2)L(-1)h(-1) were recorded in the presence of Desmopan and silicone oil, respectively, which are in agreement with previously reported values in literature. These results suggest that mass transfer enhancements in TPPBs might correspond to an increase in a(g) rather than to the establishment of a high-performance gas/vector/water transfer pathway.
authors.affiliation: Departmento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo del Prado de la Magdalena, s/n, 47005 Valladolid, Spain.
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quijano
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rocha-Ríos
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Villaverde
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Revah
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thalasso
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors; D005285:Fermentation; D005740:Gases; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D016958:Pseudomonas putida / Q000378:metabolism*; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D012828:Silicones; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014050:Toluene; D010100:Oxygen