The aim of this study was to optimize the electrostatic extrusion process for producing small, spherical and uniform microbeads with different fluid viscosities by varying the operating parameters in very wide ranges. Alginate was used as a model polymer. Since the rheological behavior of the solution is one of the parameters that affects the flow dynamics during extrusion, viscosity measurements of solutions with different alginate content were performed. The results obtained in this study show that an electrostatic droplet generator can be used for the production of spherical microbeads of narrow size distribution from low- and medium- viscous fluids (0.5, 1, and 2% of alginate). The average microbead diameter for low-viscous solutions was less than 100 micrometers. It was possible to obtain beads smaller than 500 micrometers that were very uniform (standard deviations less than 2.5%) and of spherical (the shape distortion was less than 1%) from medium-viscous alginate solution (2%). By reducing the polymer flowrate to less than 1 ml/h, even smaller microbeads were produced with diameters of about 300 micrometers. The particular contribution of this paper is in exceeding limitations regarding the use of high-viscous polymer solutions. Optimization of the operating conditions that included the use of a very small needle (0.15 mm), enlargement of the electrode distance to more than 20 cm and a severe reduction in the polymer flow rate to lower than 5 ml/h (for 3% alginate) or 1 ml/h (for 4% alginate) enabled the production of small, entirely spherical and uniform microbeads with an average microbead diameter lower than 500 and 700 micrometers in the case of 3 and 4% of alginate, respectively.

The JetCutter is a new, simple and efficient technology for the high throughput encapsulation of various materials inside spherical beads. Monodisperse beads in the particle size range from approximately 0.2 mm up to several millimeters can be prepared at high throughput rates with the JetCutter. The generation of beads is not limited by the fluid viscosity. Thus, also highly viscous fluids even with high loadings of solids, can be processed, which leads to an improved stability of the resulting beads. The JetCutter technology is available in different scales and corresponding throughputs ranging from lab-scale devices (liters per day) up to large scale installations for industrial production purposes (tons per day). The application of the JetCutter for industrial purposes has been well established by geniaLab®, which currently produces more than 40 tons/year of small hydrogel beads

No abstract

Fumaric acid is a promising monomer to obtain biomass-based polyesters and polyamides, and it is mainly produced by fungi of the Rhizopus genus in medium to high titters. The use of glucose, a main component of starchy and cellulosic food waste, as carbon source, together with a low-nitrogen source concentration, is a promising route to reduce process costs. In this work, the effects of nitrogen and carbonate sources on Rhizopus arrhizus NRRL 1526 morphology and fumaric acid productivity were analysed, simplifying the traditional production broth composition. Moreover, a non-structured, non-segregated kinetic model was proposed and fitted to concentration data of all relevant components obtained in batches performed in triplicate with the selected production broth at 34 °C and 200 rpm in an orbital shaker.