A restructured framework for modeling oxygen transfer in two-phase partitioning bioreactors

This communication proposes a mechanistic modification to a recently published method for analyzing oxygen mass transfer in two-phase partitioning bioreactors (Nielsen et al., 2003), and corrects an oversight in that paper. The newly proposed modification replaces the earlier empirical approach, which treated the two liquid phases as a single, homogeneous liquid phase, with a two-phase mass transfer model of greater fundamental rigor. Additionally, newly developed empirical models are presented that predict the mass transfer coefficient of oxygen absorption in both aqueous medium and an organic phase (n-hexadecane) as a function of bioreactor operating conditions. Experimental values and theoretical predictions of mass transfer coefficients in two-phase dispersions, k_La_TP, are compared. The revised approach more clearly demonstrates the potential for oxygen mass transfer enhancement by organic phase addition, one of the motivations for employing a distinct second phase in a partitioning bioreactor.