Application of a novel oscillatory flow micro-bioreactor to the production of γ-decalactone in a two immiscible liquid phase medium

Abstract

A novel micro-bioreactor based on the oscillatory flow technology was applied to the scale-down of the biotechnological production of γ-decalactone. A decrease up to 50% of the time required to obtain the maximum concentration of the compound was observed, when compared with other scaled-down platforms (stirred tank bioreactor or shake flask). A three-fold increase in γ-decalactone productivity was obtained by increasing oscillatory mixing intensity from Reo ~482 to Reo ~1447. This was presumably related to the effective contribution of the reactor geometry to enhanced mass transfer rates between the two immiscible liquid phases involved in the process by increasing the interfacial area.