Hello,
I am a final year chemical engineering student, I have a module about bioprocess engineering. one of the experiment that we did is measurement of kla in an aerated stirred tank. for the kla value when I calculated it and when I plotted the linear graph I got a negative value, and I am wondering is that legit or kla value shouldn't have any negative values?
Thanks in advance.
In bioprocess engineering, kla (the volumetric mass transfer coefficient) is a critical parameter used to quantify the rate at which oxygen is transferred from the gas phase to the liquid phase in an aerated stirred tank. In other words, the kla value represents the product of the mass transfer coefficient (kL) and the specific interfacial area (aa).
Therefore, a negative kla value is not legitimate. The kLa (volumetric mass transfer coefficient) represents a rate of mass transfer and should always be a positive value. A negative value typically indicates an error in your experimental setup, data collection, or calculations. You should review your procedure, ensure your equipment is calibrated correctly, and verify your calculations to identify and correct any errors.