Experimental & Empirical Correlations for the Determination of the Overall Volumetric Mass Transfer Coefficients of Carbon Dioxide in Stirred Tank Bioreactors

One of the most important parameters to cultivate microalgae is carbon dioxide absorption by microalgae. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient (KLa) of carbon dioxide to quantify CO2 transfer from the gaseous to the liquid phase. Until now, finding KLa of CO2 for microalgae cultivation has been a challenge as there is not much information available about it in the literature and most of the time the CO2 transfer to microalgae is approximated. In this study, correlations to directly calculate KLa of CO2 in a stirred tank bioreactor are developed, and the combination of the parameters: 2000 ml/min, 350 rpm and 3% CO2 content in air was found to be optimum for enhanced KLa of CO2 in a stirred tank bioreactor