Types of bioreactor compared
The type of a bioreactor is chosen against three constraints, in this order: the pressure and temperature the process runs at, the shear the culture tolerates, and how sterility is achieved and validated. This page compares stirred tank, airlift, bubble column, photobioreactor, packed bed and single-use, with the declared limits of each.
The six types, one per row
The limits in the table are those declared in the datasheets of the corresponding series: they are the firmest selection criterion, because they can be checked. The two types Vinci does not manufacture stay in the table, because a comparison that leaves them out is not a comparison.
| Type | How it mixes | Declared limits | When it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stirred tank, glass | Mechanical, with an impeller | 0.5 – 12 L · up to 1 bar · 80 °C jacketed, 60 °C with a heating mantle · autoclave sterilisation | Process development and screening, when the culture needs to be visible |
| Stirred tank, benchtop stainless steel | Mechanical, with an impeller | 1 – 15 L · XLP series up to 1 barg and 70 °C, XVP and XHP series up to 10 barg and 135 °C | Pressurised or high-temperature processes already on the bench, gas fermentation for instance |
| Stirred tank, in-situ sterilisable stainless steel | Mechanical, with an impeller | From 30 L to over 1,000 L total volume · integrated SIP and CIP cycles · kLa ≥ 200 h⁻¹ | Microbial processes with a high oxygen demand, GMP environments, scale-up towards production |
| Airlift | Pneumatic, on gas flow alone: no impeller | 0.5 – 12 L in borosilicate glass, as a configuration of the photobioreactor kit | Cultures that do not tolerate shear: microalgae, cyanobacteria, mycelium |
| Photobioreactor | Pneumatic (airlift) or mechanical, either way | 0.5 – 12 L · multichannel LED, PAR from 0 to 2,500 µmol/m²·s · 2 to 70 °C · PAR sensor | Photosynthetic cultures, where light is a process parameter like pH |
| Single-use | Mechanical, with an impeller | 0.35 – 40 L total volume · 0 to 0.5 barg · +4 to +50 °C · up to 12 reactors in parallel | Quick changeover between projects and no cleaning validation: the fluid path arrives sterile |
| Bubble column not manufactured | Pneumatic, with no riser: no imposed circulation | — | Processes with a low mixing requirement; Vinci does not manufacture this type |
| Packed bed not manufactured | Liquid flows through a bed of carriers the cells adhere to | — | Adherent cells and prolonged perfusion; Vinci does not manufacture this type |
Volumes for the types Vinci manufactures are total volumes, as on the product pages. Working volume is lower: on the scale-up page the path is given in working volume.
Three questions, in this order
What pressure and temperature does the process run at?
This is the first filter and the sharpest: it rules out whole types before anything else is weighed. Above 1 bar glass is out; above 0.5 barg or 50 °C single-use is out; above 70 °C what remains are the stainless steel series built for pressure.
How much shear does the culture tolerate?
A culture that does not tolerate it rules out the impeller and points to airlift, where gas flow alone moves the liquid. A robust culture instead gains from the more vigorous mixing of a stirred tank.
How is sterility achieved, and who validates it?
The autoclave limits the volume to what fits inside it. SIP sterilises the system already assembled and connected, and above a certain volume it is the only route. Single-use moves the question upstream: it arrives sterile, and in place of cleaning validation there are the supplier’s batch certificates.
How much a culture tolerates
Shear is quantified in two ways, to be read together: the specific power dissipated in the liquid, in watts per cubic metre, and the tip speed of the impeller, in metres per second. The ranges below are not Vinci figures: they are orders of magnitude from the literature, useful for placing a culture before sizing anything. Every strain has its own sensitivity, and a torque measurement on the real system says more than any range.
| Culture | Specific power · tip speed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mammalian cells (CHO, HEK293) | 10 – 100 W/m³ · 1 – 2 m/s typical | Nienow, Cytotechnology 50 (2006) 9–33 |
| Bacteria and yeasts | 1 – 5 kW/m³ · 3 – 7 m/s typical | Doran, Bioprocess Engineering Principles, 2nd ed. |
| Microalgae | Sensitivity varies too much between species for a single range to be honest: that is why airlift is used here, which takes the impeller out of the equation. | |
On Vinci systems shear is measured with the optional torque module, intended for monitoring viscosity and shear during the process.
Tell us how your process runs
Pressure, temperature, culture and quantity per batch: with those four figures the type narrows to one or two, and our engineering team replies within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Volume is not the first choice: it follows from the product quantity per batch and the expected yield of the process, and it is then checked that the type withstands the required pressure, temperature and shear. The Vinci path covers 250 mL to over 1,000 L working volume across four stages that share the control platform, so a process developed on the bench transfers without rewriting the automation.
Both mix on gas flow alone, with no impeller. An airlift has a riser that separates the zone where gas rises from the one where liquid comes back down, and that imposes a defined circulation: the liquid always travels the same loop. A bubble column has none, so mixing is less predictable. Vinci manufactures airlift, not bubble column.
The limits decide before the economics do: above 40 L total volume, above 0.5 barg or over 50 °C single-use is not an option and stainless steel takes over. Below those limits single-use pays off where projects change often, because it removes cleaning and its validation; stainless steel pays off where the same process runs for a long time and the cost of consumable vessels adds up.
For Vinci, bioreactor is the general term and fermenter denotes a bioreactor configured for microorganisms: more vigorous aeration, Rushton impellers, higher specific power. The difference is in the configuration, not in the machine — the same controller governs both cases, and single-use vessels carry the two designations SUB and SUF on the same vessel.