Comparison of torque method and temperature method for determination of power consumption in disposable shaken bioreactors

Disposable bioreactors are increasingly used in bioprocess development of animal cell cultures. However, the engineering parameters of the present disposable bioreactors are very difficult to characterise. Characterisation of any bioreactor is important to evaluate the suitability of operating conditions and absolutely necessary for successful scale-up. In this research work, an attempt is made to validate a characterisation method which is simple and can be used for any given volume of disposable bioreactors larger than 2 L. Two evaluation methods, namely the temperature method and the well established torque method were used for determination of power consumption in 2 L and 20 L disposable shaken bioreactors. The trend of the values of power consumption was shown with respect to shaking frequency and filling volume. Results indicate that quite reasonable values of power consumption can be obtained by the temperature method and the torque method, which are in good agreement with each other (error <30%).