Scale-up Challenges In Bioreactors: Why You Cannot Keep Every Parameter Constant

Bioreactor scale-up comes with an unavoidable challenge: not every process parameter can remain constant. Maintaining power input can alter tip speed and shear forces, while keeping tip speed constant can significantly change power input. At the same time, oxygen transfer depends on equipment characteristics such as stirrer geometry and sparger design.

In this webinar, discover how these interconnected variables shape scale-up strategy and why performance at larger volumes can differ from small-scale results. Explore the effects of mixing behavior, air and oxygen distribution, shear-force peaks and liquid pressure, along with the role of micro- and macro-spargers in kLa.

You’ll learn why understanding equipment capabilities is essential, but not always sufficient. Practical scale-up also relies on process experience and targeted trial and error to determine how an established platform process will respond as bioreactor volume increases.