As part of the group Multuphase Flows in Bioreactors, the research of Noah von Schnitzler focuses on the quantification of fluid dynamic stresses within bioreactors. These stresses result from the fluid dynamic conditions inside the bioreactor and can have an effect on the metabolic and reproductive behavior of cells. Central to the description of the flow characteristics is the local energy dissipation rate. As a first approach to characterizing fluid dynamic stress, the spatial distribution of the local energy dissipation rate in a stirred tank bioreactor is investigated by the means of CFD and 4D-PTV.
With bioreactors from laboratory (3 L) to production scale (15 000 L) and the participation in industrial research cooperations, scale dependency and applicability in production can be pursued.