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A bioreactor is a vessel in which it is carried out a chemical process, which involves organisms or biochemically active substances derived from such organisms. Bioreactors are commonly cylindrical, ranging in size from some liter to cube meters, and are often made of stainless steel.
Bioreactor design is quite a complex engineering task. Under optimum conditions the microorganisms or cells will reproduce at an astounding rate. The vessel's environmental conditions like gas (i.e., air, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) flow rates, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen levels, and agitation speed need to be closely monitored and controlled. One bioreactor manufacturer, Broadly-James Corporation, uses vessels, sensors, controllers, and a control system, digitally networked together for their bioreactor system.
A bioreactor may refer to any device or system that supports a biologically active environment. The process can be either aerobic or anaerobic. A bioreactor may also refer to a device or system meant to grow cells or tissues in the context of cell culture. These devices are being developed for use in tissue engineering.
On the basis of mode of operation, a bioreactor may be classified as batch, fed batch or continuous. An example of a continuous bioreactor is the chemostat. Organisms growing in bioreactors may be suspended or immobilized. The simplest, where cells are immobilized, is a Petri dish with agar gel.
NASA has developed a new type of bioreactor that artificially grows tissue in cell cultures.NASA's tissue bioreactor can grow heart tissue, skeletal tissue, ligaments, cancer tissue for study, and other types of tissue. A bioreactor landfill operates to rapidly transform and degrade organic waste. The increase in waste degradation and stabilization is accomplished through the addition of liquid and air to enhance microbial processes. By efficiently designing and operating a landfill, the life of a landfill can be extended by as much as 20 years.
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