MODELING AND SIMULATION OF AIRLIFT BIOREACTOR WITH EXTERNAL FLOW LOOP USING COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMIC

In this study, a modeling and comprehensive 2D simulation of airlift bioreactor with the external flow loop is presented with the purpose of achieving the required physical properties such as the velocity of gas and liquid phase and also viscosity. In order to simulate, an airlift bioreactor with a length of 1.75 m, a width of 0.5 m and a thickness of 0.08 m is applied. Fine mesh is used in this modeling and simulation to increase the accuracy and reduce the relative error of calculation. Simulation illustrates that the flow rate of gas at the inlet of the sparger is maximum and its amount decreases during the flow in bioreactor. Also, simulation suggests a direct relationship between the amount of gas hold up and its velocity of gas. According to the simulation, the highest dynamic viscosity value was 0.8 Pa/s and the lowest value was 0.1 Pa/s