Bioprocessing Impeller With Flexible Blades For Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing impellers and bioreactor bags in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries face challenges in achieving uniform mixing of ingredients, particularly in bioreactor bags with mixing impellers mounted near the base, which can be inefficient and costly due to the need for various impeller sizes and configurations.
Innovation Solution
An impeller design featuring a hub with vertically arranged slots and blades with notches, allowing for engagement between blade arms, and a bioprocessing unit comprising a bioreactor bag with a rotatable shaft and housing assembly, enabling efficient mixing by rotating the impeller within the bag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional impellers with fixed blade configurations are used, then mixing operation can be performed, but mixing efficiency is insufficient and multiple impeller sizes are required increasing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller blade is designed with a flexible arm that can deflect relative to the hub, allowing the blade configuration to dynamically adapt to different mixing conditions and fluid viscosities. This dynamic flexibility enables a single impeller design to perform multiple mixing functions that traditionally required multiple fixed-configuration impellers.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade arm's deflection angle and position can vary based on operating conditions, effectively changing the impeller's geometric parameters during operation. This parameter variability allows the same physical impeller to achieve different mixing patterns and efficiencies for various applications, eliminating the need for multiple fixed-configuration impellers.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple impeller sizes and configurations are used to achieve desired mixing, then mixing performance can be optimized, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible blade design allows a single universal impeller to perform multiple mixing functions by adapting its blade configuration to different operating conditions. This multi-functionality eliminates the need to manufacture and inventory multiple specialized impellers, reducing production costs while maintaining precise mixing performance across various applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade is segmented into a hub portion and a flexible arm portion that can move independently. This segmentation allows the blade to adapt its configuration without requiring multiple complete impeller assemblies, reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining the ability to achieve uniform ingredient distribution.
3Ease of operation
If impellers are mounted near the base of bioreactor bags, then mixing operation is simplified, but mixing efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible blade arm can deflect and adjust its position dynamically during rotation, creating more effective mixing patterns even when the impeller is mounted at the base of the bioreactor bag. This dynamic adjustment compensates for the limited radial space available, improving mixing efficiency without requiring changes to the mounting position or bioreactor configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
Fluid impellers for biocontainers, and bioprocessing units including the impellers and biocontainers, and methods of using the impellers, are disclosed.