TURBULENT BREAKAGE OF PROTEIN PRECIPITATES IN MECHANICALLY STIRRED BIOREACTORS

Experimental data relating to the breakage of isoelectric Soya protein precipitates in a mechanically agitated bioreactor are provided and e xamined in the light of a proposed mechanistic model which relates the size of the maximum attainable aggregate diameter to the energy dissi pation rate in the vessel. The analysis suggests that protein precipit ation results in the formation of scale-invariant fractal aggregates w ith a dimensionality of 2.2. Comparing the fractal dimensionality of t he protein precipitates with reported values based on computer simulat ion studies suggests that the aggregates undergo considerable restruct uring during agitation.