Mass transfer in bioreactors and reactors

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The objective of this research program is to understand the role of coupling between chemical reactions and diffusion of molecules length scales from a few nanometers to a few microns. The research will investigate two important reactions relevant to energy and the environment; thermal cracking of oil sands bitumen, and the bacterial transport of hydrocarbons into cells and between bacteria in methanogenic consortia. In both high-temperature cracking and in biological conversion of hydrocarbons, the reactions are profoundly affected by the movements of the reacting molecules over short distances. For example, when large molecules in oil sands bitumen break apart at high temperature, we want the cracked fragments to escape to the vapor phase to release valuable products. If the cracked fragments cannot diffuse out of the liquid phase fast enough, then they can react to form low-value coke instead. In bacterial conversion of hydrocarbons, the cell wall plays the key role in determining which compounds enter the cell. Protein pumps within the cell wall can remove compounds such as antibiotics and hydrocarbons from the cell. Understanding and controlling the movement of compounds across the cell wall is a crucial step to using bacteria as effective bioreactors for environmental cleanup and for conversion of hydrocarbons to useful products.