Design of a spray-cycle bioreactor and its application for riboflavin production

A highly efficient spray-cycle reactor for oxygen supply was developed. A typical arrangement of the reactor consists of a spray column fitted with a nozzle and a coaxal tube, and a reservoir vessel. The culture broth was circulated between the column and vessel by a peristaltic pump. The volumetric oxygen-transfer coefficient, k₁a was evaluated as a parameter for oxygen supply. The liquid circulation rate in the spraycycle reactor was represented in terms of the number of circulations. The k₁a value increased as the number of circulations increased, reaching 208 h^-1 at 4.4 min^-1 of circulation numbers. This value was 1.8 times higher than that in a 1500-mL stirred-tank reactor under the agitation of 20.7g and the aeration of 1.0 volume per min. The spray-cycle reactor was applied to riboflavin production by an aerobic microorganism. The riboflavin production increased as k₁a values increased and the maximal riboflavin production was 161 mg/L at 208 h^-1 of k₁a. These results suggest that the spray-cycle reactor is useful to oxygen-demanding fermentation because of the high k₁a value in comparison with the stirred-tank reactor.