Modeling and assessment of the transfer effectiveness in integrated bioreactor with membrane separation

Integrating a reaction process with membrane separation allows for effective product removal, favorable shifting of the reaction equilibrium, overcoming eventual inhibitory or toxic effects of the products and has the advantage of being energy and space saving. It has found a range of applications in innovative biotechnologies, generating value-added products (exopolysaccharides, antioxidants, carboxylic acids) with high potential for separation/ concentration of thermosensitive bioactive compounds, preserving their biological activity and reducing the amount of solvents and the energy for solvent recovery. Evaluating the effectiveness of such integrated systems is based on fluid dynamics and mass transfer knowledge of flowing matter close to the membrane surface – shear deformation rates and shear stress at the membrane interface, mass transfer coefficients. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based approach for assessing the effectiveness of integrated stirred tank bioreactor with submerged membrane module is compiled. It is related to the hydrodynamic optimization of the selected reactor configuration in two-phase flow, as well as to the concentration profiles and analysis of the reactor conditions in terms of reaction kinetics and mass transfer.

Integrated System Technology of POME Treatment for Biohydrogen and Biomethane Production in Malaysia

In recent years, production of biohydrogen and biomethane (or a mixture of these; biohythane) from organic wastes using two-stage bioreactor have been implemented by developing countries such as Germany, USA and the United Kingdom using the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. In Thailand, biohythane production in a two-stage process has been widely studied. However, in Malaysia, treating organic and agricultural wastes using an integrated system of dark fermentation (DF) coupled with anaerobic digestion (AD) is scarce. For instance, in most oil palm mills, palm oil mill effluent (POME) is treated using a conventional open-ponding system or closed-digester tank for biogas capture. This paper reviewed relevant literature studies on treating POME and other organic wastes using integrated bioreactor implementing DF and/or AD process for biohydrogen and/or biomethane production. Although the number of papers that have been published in this area is increasing, a further review is needed to reveal current technology used and its benefits, especially in Malaysia, since Malaysia is the second-largest oil palm producer in the world.

Online Measurement of Glucose Consumption from HepG2 Cells Using an Integrated Bioreactor and Enzymatic Assay

In this work, we developed a microfluidic bioreactor for optimizing growth and maintaining structure and function of HepG2, and when desired, the device could be removed and the extracellular output from the bioreactor combined with enzymatic glucose reagents into a droplet-based microfluidic system. The intensity of the resulting fluorescent assay product in the droplets was measured, and was directly correlated to glucose concentration, allowing the effect of insulin on glucose consumption in the HepG2 cells to be observed and quantified online and in near real-time.

Online Measurement of Glucose Consumption from HepG2 Cells Using an Integrated Bioreactor and Enzymatic Assay

In this work, we developed a microfluidic bioreactor for optimizing growth and maintaining structure and function of HepG2, and when desired, the device could be removed and the extracellular output from the bioreactor combined with enzymatic glucose reagents into a droplet-based microfluidic system. The intensity of the resulting fluorescent assay product in the droplets was measured, and was directly correlated to glucose concentration, allowing the effect of insulin on glucose consumption in the HepG2 cells to be observed and quantified online and in near real-time.