The effect of Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, a hydrocarbon-metabolising organism, on gas holdup in a 4-phase bubble column bioprocess

Abufalgha, Ayman A., Curson, Andrew R. J., Lea-Smith, David J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2463-406X and Pott, Robert W. M. (2023) The effect of Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, a hydrocarbon-metabolising organism, on gas holdup in a 4-phase bubble column bioprocess. Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, 46. 635–644. ISSN 1615-7591

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Abstract

To design bioprocesses utilising hydrocarbon-metabolising organisms (HMO) as biocatalysts, the effect of the organism on the hydrodynamics of bubble column reactor (BCR), such as gas holdup, needs to be investigated. Therefore, this study investigates the first use of an HMO, Alcanivorax borkumensis SK2, as a solid phase in the operation and hydrodynamics of a BCR. The study investigated the gas holdup in 3-phase and 4-phase systems in a BCR under ranges of superficial gas velocities (UG) from 1 to 3 cm/s, hydrocarbon (chain length C13-21) concentrations (HC) of 0, 5, and 10% v/v and microbial concentrations (MC) of 0, 0.35, 0.6 g/l. The results indicated that UG was the most significant parameter, as gas holdup increases linearly with increasing UG from 1 to 3 cm/s. Furthermore, the addition of hydrocarbons into the air-deionized water -SK2 system showed the highest increase in the gas holdup, particularly at high UG (above 2 cm/s). The solids (yeast, cornflour, and SK2) phases had differing effects on gas holdup, potentially due to the difference in surface activity. In this work, SK2 addition caused a reduction in the fluid surface tension in the bioprocess which therefore resulted in an increase in the gas holdup in BCR. This work builds upon previous investigations in optimising the hydrodynamics for bubble column hydrocarbon bioprocesses for the application of alkane bioactivation.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding Information: Part of this work was performed in the School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, the UK, and was supported by a University of East Anglia Global Challenges Research Fellowship. The remaining work was performed in the Department of Process Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and was financially supported by the Centre of Excellent in Catalysis (c*change), and Stellenbosch University. A. Curson and D. Lea-Smith acknowledge support from Human Frontier Science Program grant RGP0031.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	alcanivorax borkumensis sk2,bubble column reactor,gas holdup,hydrocarbon-based bioprocess,multiphase system,biotechnology,bioengineering ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1305
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Molecular Microbiology
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	26 May 2023 16:31
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2024 01:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92194
DOI:	10.1007/s00449-023-02849-6

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