Two-liquid-phase bioreactors

The application of two liquid phases that are poorly miscible is a fascinating research topic for biocatalytical conversions because of the promising results. Motives for application include an increase of productivity and achievement of continuous processing, but new limitations arise, e.g., interfacial effects such as biocatalyst accumulation and loss of activity, medium component accumulation, and slow coalescence. Centrifuges, membranes, and immobilization are tools that can overcome part of the problems, but more fundamental knowledge about interfaces and coalescence is still necessary for successful application. For scaleup and further development of processes based on the obtained results, a choice must be made for the configuration of the experimental setup of a bioreactor. Aspects like aeration, shear stress, batch or continuous processing, and immobilization can play an important role. This review article describes these aspects and the proposals that have been made in recent years concerning two-liquid-phase bioreactors. It shows some adaptations to existing bioreactors, such as loop reactors and stirred-tank reactors.