@Air Compressor
2025-05-29

Design temperature and pressure of fermentation air buffer tank

Technical description on the design temperature and pressure of fermentation air buffer tank

As the core equipment of the biological fermentation process, the fermentation air buffer tank must be designed to comprehensively consider process requirements, material properties and safety specifications. The following specifications are given for its design basis and technical points:

1. Principles for determining design temperature

  1. Process temperature matching
    • The temperature of conventional aerobic fermentation processes is usually controlled at 25 – 37 ° C, and the design temperature of the buffer tank needs to be 5 – 10 ° C higher than the maximum process temperature to cope with instantaneous temperature rise and high temperature environment in summer.
    • Special processes (such as high-temperature fermentation) need to be evaluated separately, and the design temperature can be increased to 60 – 80 ℃.
  2. Temperature resistance of material
    • The upper design temperature limit of carbon steel buffer tanks is 350 ° C, and the stainless steel material can reach 450 ° C, which needs to be selected according to the characteristics of the medium.
    • The design of the tank insulation layer needs to consider the impact of ambient temperature, and an electric heat tracing system needs to be equipped in extremely cold areas (below-20℃).

2. Design pressure setting specifications

  1. System pressure matching
    • The design pressure needs to be 10%-20% higher than the maximum discharge pressure of the air compressor to cope with pressure fluctuations and safety valve tripping requirements.
    • Typical configuration: When the air compressor exhaust pressure is 0.8MPa, the buffer tank design pressure is 1.0-1.1MPa.
  2. Safety factor requirements
    • According to the “Pressure Vessel Safety Technical Supervision Regulations”, the design pressure of the buffer tank shall not be less than 1.1 times the maximum working pressure.
    • For flammable and explosive media, the design pressure needs to be increased by an additional 0.1-0.2MPa as a safety margin.

3. Typical working conditions parameter reference

fermentation type Typical process temperature (℃) Design temperature range (℃) Air compressor discharge pressure (MPa) Buffer tank design pressure (MPa)
antibiotic fermentation 28-32 40-45 0.6-0.8 0.8-1.0
amino acid fermentation 30-35 45-50 0.7-0.9 0.9-1.1
organic acid fermentation 35-40 50-55 0.8-1.0 1.0-1.2

4. Treatment measures for special working conditions

  1. High temperature fermentation scene
    • Equipped with a jacketed cooling system, circulating cooling water is used to control the tank temperature.
    • Select high-temperature resistant sealing materials to ensure no leakage under 300℃.
  2. High-pressure fermentation scene
    • The wall thickness of the tank body is calculated at 1.2 times the design pressure, and stress analysis and verification are carried out.
    • Equipped with a parallel system of dual safety valves to ensure reliable relief in case of overpressure.

V. Key points of operation and maintenance

  1. Daily inspection content
    • Check the displayed values of thermometers and pressure gauges every shift and record the deviations from the DCS system.
    • Check the integrity of the safety valve lead seal every day and manually test the flexibility of opening and closing.
  2. Regular inspection items
    • The wall thickness of the tank body is tested every six months, focusing on monitoring stress concentration areas such as joints and manholes.
    • Hydrostatic tests are conducted every year, the test pressure is 1.25 times the design pressure, and there is no leakage after holding the pressure for 30 minutes.

It is recommended that enterprises establish a special management system for pressure vessels and implement full life cycle management for special equipment such as buffer tanks. For continuous operation systems, an intelligent monitoring platform can be configured to collect temperature, pressure, liquid level and other parameters in real time, predict equipment status through data analysis, and achieve preventive maintenance. At the same time, it is recommended to conduct pipeline leak testing every quarter and entrust a third-party testing agency to issue a full quality report every year to ensure the continuous and safe operation of the system.

Welcome!

Related Articles:
@Air Compressor
2025-05-27

Do machining equipment such as lathe and drilling machines need to be equipped with air compressors?

Explanation on equipping machining equipment with air compressors As a universal air source equipment, air compressors have extensive application needs in the field of machining. After comprehensive technical analysis and industry practice verification, the necessity and configuration points are explained as follows…

@Air Compressor
2025-07-18

What container does the buffer tank belong to?

Technical description on the type of buffer tank container. As an important auxiliary equipment of the air compressor system, its container properties can be defined according to the following dimensions: 1. Basic function definition The buffer tank is used to balance gas pressure fluctuations and achieve energy…

@Air Compressor
2025-06-20

Is it necessary to use frequency conversion motors for screw air compressors?

Analysis of the necessity of the application of variable frequency motors in screw air compressors 1. Technical principles and core advantages of variable frequency motors realize speed adjustment by changing the power supply frequency. The application in screw air compressors can bring the following improvements: dynamic response…

@Air Compressor
2025-06-18

What is the amount of compressed air used in a general factory

As a basic energy source in the industrial field, compressed air usage varies significantly depending on plant type, production process and equipment configuration. The following is an analysis from three aspects: industry characteristics, influencing factors and calculation methods to provide systematic reference for enterprises: 1. Line…

@Air Compressor
2025-04-17

What is the general pressure range of screw air compressor

The pressure range of screw air compressors varies depending on the model and application scenarios, but is usually set at 0.7~1.3MPa (about 7~13 kilograms of pressure). The following are explained from the principles, application scenarios and influencing factors: 1. Standard pressure range is often…