A mechanistic model for oil recovery in a region of high oil droplet concentration from multiphasic fermentations. (August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Da Costa Basto, Rita M.; Casals, Maria P.; Mudde, Robert F.; van der Wielen, Luuk A.M.; Cuellar, Maria C.
• Is Part Of: Chemical engineering science. Volume 3(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-08
• Subjects: Emulsion -- Aggregation -- Oil recovery -- Multiphasic fermentation -- Modelling; Chemical engineering; Periodicals; 660.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cesx.2019.100033
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2590-1400

Abstract

Highlights: Gas bubbles are used to recover oil in a concentrated oil region with oil on top. A mathematical model describing oil coalescence is proposed. Optimized process parameters doubled oil recovery in fermentation broth. Large oil recovery can be achieved for larger scales. Abstract: Multiphasic fermentations where an organic phase is spontaneously formed or when it is added for product removal are commonly used for production of valuable compounds. The turbulent conditions and the presence of surface-active compounds (SACs) during fermentation create a stable emulsion difficult to separate. A gas bubble/oil droplet separation method has been proposed to break such emulsion. In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to describe oil/bubble interaction in a region of high oil droplet concentration. Model validation was performed using a synthetic emulsion and an emulsion from a fermentation broth. By applying the optimal parameters predicted by the model, a 6- and 3-times oil recovery improvement was reached for the synthetic emulsion and the fermentation broth, respectively. In conclusion, the proposed mechanistic model allowed to improve oil recovery in the existing laboratory set-up, and can be used to optimize the separation and recovery method at large scale.