(458e) Design, Simulation, and Validation of 3-D Printed Hydrocyclones for Microbial Cell Concentration

Concentration of microbial cells is a key step in bioprocessing and laboratory operations. At the laboratory scale, concentration is typically conducted in centrifuges, however, this requires energy and consumables, and is not compatible with autonomous, continuous operation. Hydrocyclones are promising alternatives because the only energy input is to operate a pump, there are no consumables, the hydrocyclone requires no labor after setup, and it can operate continuously. This study provides a parametric open source design of a 3-D printable hydrocyclone with interchangeable parts for ease of testing different hydrocyclone dimensions during experimental optimization. The hydrocyclone was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics® software using the k-ε turbulence physics to simulate rotational fluid flow and coupled with the particle tracing module to track individual cells or flocs. The simulation was able to replicate the rotational vortex and central air core and could track individual cells to the hydrocyclone overflow and underflow. The simulation was used to estimate the concentration efficiency for different hydrocyclone geometries. Simulations were experimentally validated for E. coli cultures mixed with varying concentrations of food-grade flocculant to increase the size of particles in solution and improve cell concentration efficiency.