Analyzing the suitability of a baffled orbitally shaken bioreactor for cells cultivation using the computational fluid dynamics approach

Orbitally shaken bioreactors (OSRs) is one of important bioreactors for mammalian cells cultivation in suspension, especially for the screening of valuable microorganisms and in basic bioprocess development experiments. However, the suitability of OSRs for cells culture in large scale is still under development. In this article, a new kind of OSRs with baffle structure was proposed and a three-dimensional CFD model was established to analyze the influence of baffle structure on the flow field. Lower installation height of baffles was found suitable for improving the mixing efficiency. Compared to the unbaffled OSR, the baffled OSR could enhance the level of oxygen transfer largely but the oxygen transfer rate was independent on the baffle installation height. Moreover, as the baffle installation height increased, the energy transferred for liquid motion was decreased. Finally, the shear stress of the baffled OSRs proposed was gentle for mammalian cells growth.