The DaRUS repository entails the simulation data for the publication "Pros and cons of airlift and bubble column bioreactors: How internals improve performance".

Gas fermentation is a promising technology of high commercial interest, particularly for capturing CO2 and CO from industrial off-gases to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to replace fossil fuels for bulk chemical production. Therefore, the ad initio evaluation of promising bioreactor settings is a crucial step. Whereas alternate configurations may be tested in laborious scale up studies, the tedious procedure may be accelerated by in silico studies that accompany or even partially replace wet-lab work. In this context, the current study compares various pneumatically agitated reactor types - bubble column reactor (BCR), annulus- and center-rising internal-loop airlift reactor (AR-IL-ALR and CR-IL-ALR), and external-loop airlift reactor (EL-ALR) - to identify advantages and disadvantages for the given application based on computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models. Process performance is optimized by the introduction of internal structures to guide the flow. Despite a 41 % increase in the mass transfer coefficient (k_L a) through internal modifications, the CR-IL-ALR still exhibited the poorest performance. The optimized AR-IL-ALR demonstrated good mixing and, after introducing an open-cone shaped internal in the head part and a conical bottom, superior mass transfer, achieving a 14 % enhancement in mass transfer coefficient to 315 1/h. This study thereby outlines the potential of internal structures for process improvement, as well as the value of a priori in silico design of reactor configurations.