Problem 1

The fungus Aureobasidium pullulans is used to produce an extracellular polysaccharide by

fermentation of sucrose. After 120 h fermentation, the following measurements of shear stress
and shear rate were made with a rotating-cylinder viscometer.

Shear stress (dyn cm-2) Shear rate (s-1)

44.1 10.2
235.3 170
357.1 340
457.1 510
636.8 1020
What is the apparent viscosity at a shear rate of 15 s-1?

a. 3.7355 dyn s cm-2

b. 7.3355 dyn s cm-2

c. 5.7533 dyn s cm-2

d. 5.5735 dyn s cm-2

Solution

Using Ostwald-de Waele or Power Law: 𝜏 = 𝐾𝛾̇ 𝑛

𝑙𝑛 (𝜏) = 𝑙𝑛 (𝐾𝛾̇ 𝑛 )

𝑙𝑛 (𝜏) = 𝑙𝑛 (𝐾) + 𝑛 𝑙𝑛(𝛾̇ )

n = 0.5870

ln K = 2.4363

K = e2.4363

K = 11.4306 dyn sn cm-2

Calculating for apparent viscosity: 𝜇𝑎 = 𝐾 𝛾̇ 𝑛−1

𝜇𝑎 = (11.4306 𝑑𝑦𝑛 𝑠 0.5870 𝑐𝑚−2 )(15 𝑠 −1 )0.5870−1

𝝁𝒂 = 𝟑. 𝟕𝟑𝟓𝟓 𝒅𝒚𝒏 𝒔 𝒄𝒎−𝟐

Problem 2

A 100 m3 fermenter of diameter 5 m is stirred using a turbine impeller 1.7 m in diameter at a

speed of 80 rpm. The culture fluid inside the fermenter has the following properties:

Cp = 4.2 kJ kg-1 ˚C-1

kfb= 0.6 W m-1 ˚C-1

ρ = 103 kg m-3

μb = 10-3 N s m-2

Assume that the viscosity at the wall is equal to the bulk-fluid viscosity.

Heat is generated by the fermentation at a rate of 2500 kW. This heat is removed to cooling
water flowing in a helical stainless-steel coil inside the vessel. The coil wall thickness is 6 mm and
the thermal conductivity of the metal is 20 W m-1 ˚C-1. There are no fouling layers present, and
the heat-transfer coefficient for the cooling water can bd neglected. The fermentation
temperature is 30 ˚C; cooling water enters the coils at 10 ˚C. Calculate the fermenter-side heat-
transfer coefficient and the overall heat-transfer coefficient U.

a. 4.2x103 W m-2 ˚C-1 ; 4.1x103 W m-2 ˚C-1

b. 4.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1 ; 4.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1

c. 2.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1 ; 1.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1

d. 2.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1 ; 2.4x103 W m-2 ˚C-1

Solution

Ni = 80 rpm = 1.33 s-1

Cpculture fluid = 4.2 kJ kg-1 ˚C-1

Cpc = Cpwater = 4.19 kJ kg-1 ˚C-1

kfb= 0.6 J s-1 m-1 ˚C-1

ρ = 103 kg m-3

μb = 10-3 N s m-2

B = 0.6 x 10-3 m

𝑁𝑢 𝑘𝑓𝑏
Calculating for the fermenter-side heat-transfer coefficient: ℎ =
𝐷

𝑁 𝑖 𝐷𝑖 2 𝜌 (1.33 𝑠−1 )(1.7 𝑚)2 (103 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 )

𝑅𝑒𝑖 = 𝜇𝑏
= 10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−1 𝑠−1
= 3.84𝑥106

𝐶𝑝 𝜇𝑏 (4.19 kJ 𝑘𝑔−1 ℃−1 )(10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−1 𝑠−1 )

𝑃𝑟 = 𝑘𝑓𝑏
= 0.6 𝐽 𝑠 −1 𝑚−1 ℃−1
=7

0.14 0.14
𝜇 10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−1 𝑠−1
𝑁𝑢 = 0.87𝑅𝑒𝑖0.62 𝑃𝑟 0.33 (𝜇 𝑏 ) = 0.87(3.84𝑥106 )0.62 (7)0.33 (10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−1 𝑠−1 )
𝑤

𝑁𝑢 = 2.0𝑥104

𝑁𝑢 𝑘𝑓𝑏 (2.0𝑥104 )(0.6 𝑊 𝑚−1 ℃−1 )

ℎℎ = =
𝐷 5𝑚

𝒉𝒉 = 𝟐. 𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝑾 𝒎−𝟐 ℃−𝟏

1 1 𝐵
Calculating for the overall heat-transfer coefficient U: = +
𝑈 ℎℎ 𝑘𝑓𝑏

1 1 0.6 x 10 − 3 m
= 3 −2 −1
+
𝑈 2.4𝑥10 𝑊 𝑚 ℃ 0.6 𝑊 𝑚−1 ℃−1

𝑼 = 𝟏. 𝟒𝒙𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝑾 𝒎−𝟐 ℃−𝟏

Problem 3

A genetically-engineered strain of yeast is cultured in a bioreactor at 30 ˚C for production of

heterologous protein. The oxygen requirement is 80 mmol l-1 h-1; the critical oxygen
concentration is 0.004 mM. The solubility of oxygen in the fermentation broth is estimated to be
10% lower than in water due to solute effects. What is the minimum mass-transfer coefficient
necessary to sustain this culture if the reactor is sparged with air at approximately 1 atm
pressure?
a. 0.15 s-1

b. 0.10 s-1

c. 0.25 s-1

d. 0.20 s-1

Solution

1 𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙 32 𝑔 1 𝑘𝑔 1000 𝑙 1ℎ
𝑞𝑂 𝑥 = 80 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑙 −1 ℎ−1 (1000 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙) (1 𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙) (1000 𝑔) ( 1 𝑚3 ) (3600 𝑠)

𝑞𝑂 𝑥 = 7.11𝑥10−4 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 𝑠 −1
1 𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙 32 𝑔 1 𝑘𝑔 1000 𝑙
𝐶𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 = 0.004 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑙 −1 (1000 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙) (1 𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙) (1000 𝑔) ( 1 𝑚3 ) = 1.28𝑥10−4 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3

Solubility of water at 30 ˚C under 1 atm = 8.05x10-3 kg m-3

∗
𝐶𝐴𝐿 = (1 − 0.10)(8.05𝑥10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 ) = 7.25𝑥10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3
𝑞𝑂 𝑥
Calculating for the minimum mass-transfer coefficient: (𝑘𝐿 𝑎)𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 = 𝐶 ∗
𝐴𝐿 −𝐶𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡

7.11𝑥10−4 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 𝑠 −1
(𝑘𝐿 𝑎)𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡 =
7.25𝑥10−3 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3 − 1.28𝑥10−4 𝑘𝑔 𝑚−3

(𝒌𝑳 𝒂)𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟎 𝒔−𝟏