Research progress of microbubble coupled bioreactor

Microbubbles have several physical characteristics, such as large gas-liquid contact area, fast gas dissolution rate, slow rise speed, and long residence time in the water, etc., which are suitable for the biological fermentation process with high gas-liquid mass transfer efficiency. In this study, several kinds of microbubble generators, like microbubble diffuser, microporous membrane, fluid oscillator coupled microporous membrane, and microbubble aeration agitator were introduced. The application of microbubble generator coupled stirred bioreactor, airlift bioreactor or biofilm reactor in biological process was described. The research progress of carbon dioxide microbubble bioreactor was summarized. This study reveals that the research of microbubble coupling bioreactor is in the early stage, and the study on the scaling up and energy consumption is limited. The continuous progress of microbubble coupled bioreactor is vital to the development of industrial biotechnology, petrochemical industry, sewage treatment, and resource reuse. © 2020, Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All right reserved.