Our bioreactors
Our bioreactors
Our laboratory is equipped with multiple pure culture bioreactor systems for sterile fermentation processes at different working volumes. These platforms enable precise control of critical parameters including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, agitation, and aeration, ensuring reproducible and scalable microbial cultivation.
Our infrastructures includes:
Bionet systems: Four units, including three 3 L reactors and one system supporting a 10 L vessel.
Sartorius Biostat® B Plus systems: Three reactors with 2 L, 5 L, and 10 L vessels.
Solaris systems: Two units compatible with 2 L, 3 L, and 5 L vessels.
This wide range of reactor volumes allows flexible scale-up strategies and process optimisation for sterile fermentations. In our laboratory, these systems are primarily used for the production of biopolymers, including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), exopolysaccharides (EPS), and other microbial-derived bioproducts.
Open mixed culture systems fully equipped acquisition and control of pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen, monitored and control through programing logic controllers.
UASB reactors are mainly used for anaerobic wastewater treatment, especially where the wastewater has high organic strength, and there’s interest in energy recovery. In our group, UASB reactors are made of acrylic, with a working volume of 1.5-2 L. It is an anaerobic reactor that can be used for treating high-COD industrial effluents, biogas and volatile fatty acids production.
CSTRs are widely used in chemical and petrochemical industries for continuous reactions such as neutralization, oxidation, and polymerization. They are also employed as bioreactors in fermentation and biochemical processes, in wastewater treatment units like aeration tanks and anaerobic digesters, and in pharmaceutical and food-processing industries. In our research group, these systems are mainly used for volatile fatty acids (VFA) and biogas production from agrifood feedstocks. They can be made of glass or inoxidable aço of 0.5-5 L working volume.
Our multi-mode aerobic reactors of 2 L are treatment systems where oxygen is supplied so aerobic microorganisms can break down organic matter (and sometimes nutrients like nitrogen) in wastewater, sludge, or industrial effluents. They have precise control of air, pH, oxygen and temperature and are used for oxygen-dependent processes like aerobic digestion, biomass growth and biopolymer production.
Our photobioreactors are designed for the efficient cultivation of microalgae or purple phototrophic bacteria, allowing flexible operation with different reactor volumes, temperature, light intensities, redox conditions, and feeding strategies to meet diverse experimental and production needs. Built in acrylic for robustness and ease of use, the photobioreactors can be operated under tailored conditions to stimulate the formation of high-value products such as PHA, natural pigments, or biohydrogen.