Diseño de un sistema de agitación para un biorreactor de 1m3 de capacidad para la producción de ácido glicérico a partir de glicerol por fermentación microbiana de Acetobacter tropicalis

Abstract

This work presents the design of an agitation system for a 1m3 capacity bioreactor intended to produce glyceric acid (GA) through microbial fermentation of A. tropicalis using 20% v/v glycerol as the primary substrate. Building on previous studies that evaluated ideal conditions for glyceric acid production, initial data were utilized to identify the impeller type and perform subsequent calculations, including impeller Reynolds number, power consumption, and mixing time. Once the agitator type was specified, standard geometric relationships were employed to size components of the agitation system, such as tank size, baffle plates, and agitator dimensions. Power consumption calculations were compared with results from other studies on fermentation media with similar rheological characteristics. The agitator's power consumption for mixing 1m3 of medium was determined to be 8.35 kW, achieving 95% homogenization in 5.14 seconds, with a mixing time error of approximately 10%, operating at an agitation speed of 500 rpm. Keywords: agitation system; glyceryc acid; bioreactor