Quick Change Spargers for Bioreactors and Fermentors


Mott porous metal sparging elements with sparger wand and quick change trident adapter



Sparging and Mass Transfer from Gases to Liquids
In bioreactor and fermentor systems, optimal mass transfer of gases like oxygen or carbon dioxide is perhaps the most difficult task to accomplish. Oxygen, in particular, is poorly soluble in water - and even less in cell culture and fermentation broths. Oxygen transfer is aided by agitation used to mix nutrients and to keep the cell culture or fermentation homogeneous. There are limits to agitation speed due to high power consumption as well as damage to organisms resulting from excessive tip speed. Agitation alone does not provide adequate mass transfer.
Using a Mott porous metal sparger greatly increases mass transfer rates in bioreactors and fermentors. The introduction of gases into stirred or unstirred reactor vessels via millions of tiny bubbles increases the gas-to-liquid contact areas allowing for optimal mass transfer rates. In-tank applications, with sparging elements located inside the tank, can be batch or continuous flow, with or without agitation.

Quick Change Spargers* Provide Fast and Easy Installation and Validation
In the past Mott porous metal sparger elements, or "frits" as they are sometimes called, were welded to the end of sparger assemblies. This fixed method of attachment required either a cut and re-weld method of replacement or a clean out-of-place method for the entire sparger assembly to meet GMP validation methods.
Today, Mott offers a Quick Change Sparger that reduces the time and effort to replace the porous metal sparger element.
With the Quick Change Sparger system (see figure 2), the porous metal element can be removed and replaced after each use. Eliminating the need to re-weld the tip or clean the entire assembly. After each batch, a new tip can be installed on the end of the assembly and is ready for steam in place operation. Or the sparger tip can be cleaned out of place utilizing a number of methods including ultrasonic cleaning or detergent and water flush.
Either way, the Quick Change Sparger can help make sparger change out simple and easy. Changing to new clean sparger tips after each batch provides an excellent method of maintaining GMP process validation methods.
* Patent Pending

© 2022 Rainer Lammertz