2.1 Mist bioreactor design and construction
The experimental setup (mist generator and accessories) were depicted in
figure 1. Sterilized air generation system contains an oil-free
compressor, pressure regulator, solenoid valve, needle valve, rotameter,
and air Sparger.
The air is produced by an oil-free compressor (Fini - Italia) and passes
through the pressure regulator (Festo - Germany), the needle valve and
the rotameter (Dywer - USA) to have an adjusted flow rate of 25 lit/min
at a pressure of 2 bar. The air introduced into the mist chamber via an
air Sparger. The air sparger contains 4 pores with a diameter of 1 mm.
The pores were in front of the media surface so the airflow was blown to
the surface that sweeps up all mist. The mist was generated by an
ultrasonic transducer (Ceramic ultrasonic piezoelectric with 1.12 MHz
frequency and 20 mm Diameter) that was attached centrally at the bottom
of the mist chamber base (Fig. 1). The mist droplets are separated from
the medium surface.