Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Cho, Toohyon.
An immobilized liquid membrane is employed to allow use of a product-extracting solvent which is normally toxic toward a cell layer which produces the product in a membrane-moderated biological reaction.
Set of hydrophilic and hydrophobic membranes in bioreactor allows product of reaction to be separated, while nutrients fed to reacting cells and byproducts removed from them. Separation process requires no externally supplied energy; free energy of reaction sufficient. Membranes greatly increase productivity of metabolizing cells by continuously removing product and byproducts, which might otherwise inhibit reaction, and by continuously adding oxygen and organic nutrients.