Lotta Kursula, M.Sc.


Eißendorfer Str. 38

Building O, Room 1.015

21073 Hamburg

Phone +49 40 42878 - 3293

Mail Lotta Kursula


Research

Fine Bubbles for Biocatalytic Processes: Microscale Phenomena and Novel Applications (DFG Project Number 501131738)

Due to the high volumetric mass transfer coefficients achieved by fine bubble aeration of reactors, the gaseous phase can be utilized more efficiently compared to macroscopic aeration. Furthermore, in biocatalytic processes, the reaction yield is increasing when using fine bubble aeration. However, the exact mechanisms causing these improvements are not fully understood yet. To gather knowledge in this regard, and therefore enable process optimization, the local mass transfer phenomena are studied in the scope of the project. This includes investigations of the interactions between enzymes and the concentration boundary layer of the fine bubbles on a microscale.

Unsteady Mass Transfer in Bubble Wakes Analyzed by Lagrangian Coherent Structures in a Flat Bed Reactor

As of today, there is limited understanding of dissolved gas and liquid interactions in turbulent bubble wakes crucial for process optimization in the field of reactive bubbly flows. Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) define the most attracting and repelling material lines. Computation in forward time yields most repelling material lines, whereas attracting lines are obtained in backward time. They act as transport barriers and are therefore particularly interesting for studies on transport phenomena. Finite Time Lyapunov Exponents (FTLE) provide information about material lines without restrictions on single manifolds. We reveal how Lagrangian Coherent Structures govern the transport of dissolved gas in bubble wakes.

Education

Graduate Teaching Assistant

  • Strömungsmechanik II (WiSe 2024/2025)

  • Strömungsmechanik II (WiSe 2023/2024)

  • Grundlagen des Technischen Zeichnens (SoSe 2023)

  • Einführung in CAD (WiSe 2022/2023)

 

Committees

Poster and Oral Presentations

Oral Presentations

  • Lotta Kursula, Sayaka Takagi, Zeynep Perçin, Felix Kexel, Paul Bubenheim, Marko Hoffmann, Andreas Liese, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Experimental Study of Microscopic Mass Transfer Phenomena of Single Fine Bubbles, 16th International Conference on Gas-Liquid and Gas-Liquid-Solid Reactor Engineering, Dresden, Germany (2024), Oral Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Christian Weiland, Zeynep Perçin, Felix Kexel, Paul Bubenheim, Marko Hoffmann, Andreas Liese, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Experimental Quantification of Local Counterdiffusion Effects on the Gas-Liquid Mass Transfer Performance on a Microscale, 27th International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, Prague, Czech Republic (2024), Oral Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Zeynep Perçin, Felix Kexel, Paul Bubenheim, Marko Hoffmann, Andreas Liese, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Experimental Quantification of Local Counterdiffusion Effects on the Gas-Liquid Mass Transfer Performance on a Microscale, International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering, Turku, Finland (2024), Oral Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Zeynep Perçin, Marko Hoffmann, Andreas Liese, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Local Mass Transfer Phenomena of Fine Bubbles in Biocatalytic Processes, 11th International Conference on Multiphase Flow, Kobe, Japan (2023), Oral Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Zeynep Perçin, Jürgen Fitschen, Sebastian Hofmann, Marko Hoffmann, Andreas Liese, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Local Mass Transfer Phenomena of Fine Bubbles in Biocatalytic Processes, Jahrestreffen Dechema-Fachgruppen AT, GAS, MPH, PMT, Paderborn, Germany (2023), Oral Presentation

Poster Presentations

  • Sayaka Takagi, Lotta Kursula, Felix Kexel, Marko Hoffmann, Koichi Terasaka and Michael Schlüter: Novel Experimental Set-up for Studies of Microscopic Transport Phenomena at Gas-Liquid Interfaces, 16th International Conference on Gas-Liquid and Gas-Liquid-Solid Reactor Engineering, Dresden, Germany (2024), Poster Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Felix Kexel, Jürgen Fitschen, Marko Hoffmann, Michael Schlüter and Alexandra von Kameke: Unsteady Mass Transfer in Bubble Wakes Analyzed by Lagrangian Coherent Structures, FTZ 3i Talk: Conference on intelligent - industrial - innovations, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany (2022), Poster Presentation

  • Lotta Kursula, Felix Kexel, Jürgen Fitschen, Marko Hoffmann, Michael Schlüter and Alexandra von Kameke: Unsteady Mass Transfer in Bubble Wakes Analyzed by Lagrangian Coherent Structures, 4th International Symposium on Multiscale Multiphase Process Engineering (2022), Poster Presentation

Publications

[191110]
Title: Intensification of a Biocatalytic Oxidation under Fine Bubble Aeration in a Rotating Bed Reactor.
Written by: Perçin, Z.; Kursula, L.; Löfgren, E.; Byström, E.; Kexel, F.; Bubenheim, P.; Schlüter, M.; Liese, A.
in: <em>Biochemical Engineering Journal</em>. (2024).
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2024.109333
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Abstract: The utilization of oxidases suffers from insufficient oxygen availability due to its low solubility in gas-liquid multiphase systems. To overcome this limitation, oxygen is continuously supplied to the reaction medium during the course of the reaction, however, it causes significant gas consumption. In this study, a novel experimental set-up was established by installing a sintered frit porous sparger in the SpinChem® rotating bed reactor. Covalently immobilized glucose oxidase on epoxy-functionalized carriers was used in the rotating bed reactor with an activity yield of the immobilization of over 98%. For fine bubble aeration, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient kLa (67.3h-1) tripled compared to macrobubble aeration (22.5h-1), while the volume-specific aeration rate remained constant. A maximum reaction yield of 96.5% was reached. The reaction rate was improved by a factor of 12.9 for the fine bubble aeration compared to macrobubble aeration under identical conditions. With fine bubble aeration, the oxygen consumption was reduced by 87.5% over macrobubble aeration, establishing the same enzyme-specific reaction rates at a comparable kLa. Validation was carried out in repetitive batches, achieving the same glucose oxidase specific activity. This study demonstrates the advantages of fine bubble aeration and presents promising results for addressing the sustainable biotransformation processes