How can I accurately calculate the heat transfer coefficient for my bioreactor?

AI Thread Summary
Determining the heat transfer coefficient for a stirred bioreactor involves several critical factors. The overall heat transfer coefficient is influenced by the heat exchanger configuration, coolant choice, fermentation fluid properties, fouling potential, and mixing degree. Key dimensionless numbers such as Reynolds, Prandtl, and Nusselt are essential for analysis. The complexity of bioreactors increases over time due to changes in fluid properties and fouling during fermentation. If designing a bioreactor from scratch, these variables must be carefully considered to avoid underdesign or overdesign. For those with existing correlations, it's important to ensure they are applicable to specific process conditions and to gather comprehensive process data and fluid properties. Numerical analysis is increasingly used for modeling complex systems in bioreactor design.
a20792
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Need help to find the heat transfer coefficient for a stirred bioreactor any help on how do I go about...
 
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a20792 said:
Need help to find the heat transfer coefficient for a stirred bioreactor any help on how do I go about...

Is this a jacketed or coiled vessel?

...the overall heat transfer coefficient not only depends on the heat exchanger configuration and on the choice of coolant, it also depends on the fermentation fluid, its fouling potential and its degree of mixing.

the overall heat transfer coefficient needs to be determined

The dimensionless groups Reynolds, Prandtl and Nusselt numbers are relevant to this problem

Bioreactors can get very complex because as the fermentation proceeds with time, fouling can increase and the physical properties of the fluid can change (such viscosity)

If you are designing a bioreactor form scratch then these factors should be considered otherwise you may end up with an underdesigned (or overdesigned) reactor.
 
Last edited:
Driftwood1 said:
Is this a jacketed or coiled vessel?

...the overall heat transfer coefficient not only depends on the heat exchanger configuration and on the choice of coolant, it also depends on the fermentation fluid, its fouling potential and its degree of mixing.

the overall heat transfer coefficient needs to be determined

The dimensionless groups Reynolds, Prandtl and Nusselt numbers are relevant to this problem

Bioreactors can get very complex because as the fermentation proceeds with time, fouling can increase and the physical properties of the fluid can change (such viscosity)

If you are designing a bioreactor form scratch then these factors should be considered otherwise you may end up with an underdesigned (or overdesigned) reactor.

its a jacketed vessel...
I've already got a correlation, do I simply plug in the numbers and get a value for the heat transfer coefficient or are there other things are consider?
 
a20792 said:
its a jacketed vessel...
I've already got a correlation, do I simply plug in the numbers and get a value for the heat transfer coefficient or are there other things are consider?

Is your correlation specific to your particular process conditions?

Some correlations simply reflect the reactor design and make many assumptions as to what fluids are used and what sort of fouling occurs. (rheology etc)

Have you crunched any numbers with the correlation you have?

Is this an existing bioreactor that has laready been built?

Or are you in the design phase?

You need as much information, process data and fluid properties etc as you can get.

Nowadays complex systems are modeled with numerical analysis.
 
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