초록 ▼

An apparatus useful for foam breaking operations and particularly useful for fermentation processes is described having a foam breaking body wherein the foam breaking surfaces are created by a multitude of elements arranged in contact with each other and defining a multitude of paths for the foam an

An apparatus useful for foam breaking operations and particularly useful for fermentation processes is described having a foam breaking body wherein the foam breaking surfaces are created by a multitude of elements arranged in contact with each other and defining a multitude of paths for the foam and fluids there through. This body is arranged for rotation and the gas phase is withdrawn from said body at or near the rotational axis.

대표청구항 ▼

In a fermentation process comprising (a) subjecting a mixture comprising a nutrient medium and a microorganism to fermentation conditions, (b) generating a foam comprising a liquid phase of nutrient and microorganism cells and a gaseous phase, (c) passing said foam to a foam breaking operation thus

In a fermentation process comprising (a) subjecting a mixture comprising a nutrient medium and a microorganism to fermentation conditions, (b) generating a foam comprising a liquid phase of nutrient and microorganism cells and a gaseous phase, (c) passing said foam to a foam breaking operation thus separating said foam into said liquid phase and said gas phase by passing the foam into contact with rapidly rotating surfaces, the improvement comprising using as said surfaces, paths defining surfaces formed in a foam breaking body by a multitude of packing material elements that are in contact with each other and that are shaped and arranged such as to form a large number of fluid paths between an outer and an inner surface of said body, said paths having an average diameter in the range of 0.04 to 1 inch, generating a pressure gradient between said outer and said inner surfaces of said body thus forcing said foam to move into contact with the outer surface of said rotating body and into said paths, withdrawing said gas phase from the inner surface of said body.