Question

Mechanical foam breaker is generally preferred over antifoam agents.

(a) True

(b) False

This question was posed to me by my school principal while I was bunking the class.

Enquiry is from Bioreactor Configurations in portion Reactor Engineering of Bioprocess Engineering

Answer 1

Right option is (a) True

Explanation: If foaming is a problem, a supplementary impeller called a foam breaker may be installed. Alternatively, chemical antifoam agents are added to the broth; because antifoams reduce the rate of oxygen transfer, mechanical foam dispersal is generally preferred.