Determining kLa and oxygen transfer rate in bioreactors

In aerobic microorganism cultivation processes in bioreactors, it is
necessary to supply nutrients and oxygen to the
microorganism cells. The oxygen supply to the cells is more
problematic because usually, oxygen solubility is
significantly lower compared to glucose and other
components of the nutrient media and therefore kLa, the volumetric oxygen and mass transfer coefficient, and the oxygen transfer rate (OTR) are important characteristics.

kLa shows numerically how efficiently oxygen, which is
introduced through a sparger in the vessel, is dissipated and
distributed in the medium by the mixer. In this short video, I give you a formula to use for small scale bioreactors and three different methods to experimentally determine kLa.

If you would like to know more about this topic, please check out the playlist "Bioreactors".