Abstract—In this work simulations were developed in order to allow the examinations of heterogeneities in the scale up of liquid-liquid dispersions (oil-water) in 3 and 300 L stirred tank bioreactors using CFD simulations (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The effects of turbulence, rotating flow, drop breakage were simulated by using the k-e, MRF (Multiple Reference Frame) and PBM (Population Balance Model), respectively, providing detailed information of important bioreactor conditions. CFD modeling predicts with good approach hydrodynamic trends which can affect the liquid-liquid dispersion process of large scale bioreactors. Motivated by these results, CFD simulations are qualified as a very promising tool for predicting hydrodynamics and drop sizes especially useful for liquid-liquid applications which are characterized by the challenging problem of emulsion stability due to undesired drop and heterogeneities in the scale up process.
Index Terms—Computational fluid dynamics, drop size, population balance model, bioreactor, scale up.
The authors are with the Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 67 N°. 53-108. Medellín, Colombia (e-mail: egrg832@udea.edu.co, lilibethniolopez@ hotmail.com).
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Cite:R. Gelves and L. Niño, "CFD Prediction of Heterogeneities in the Scale up of Liquid-Liquid Dispersions," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 5, no. 2 pp. 79-84, 2014.
