Patent ID: 7951555

Claim:
A bioreactor comprising: a membrane-supporting structure; and a membrane supported on the membrane-supporting structure, said membrane having a nutrient face, a gas face and a thickness between said faces, said membrane having an immobilised biolayer in a location selected from on the gas face and in the membrane near the gas face, wherein the membrane comprises a gel reinforced by a support between the gas face and the nutrient face, and the gel providing communication between the nutrient face and the gas face of the membrane allowing diffusion of a nutrient solution through the membrane and the membrane allows diffusion of a nutrient solution from the nutrient face to the immobilised biolayer, and wherein the membrane, when supported by the supporting structure, has one configuration selected from the group consisting of: a pair of membranes disposed so as to define an inside region between the membranes of the pair; the membrane disposed adjacent to a non-porous support disposed so as to define an inside region between the membrane and the non-porous support, said non-porous support comprising a material that is impervious to the nutrient solution; and the membrane supported in a configuration in which a portion of the membrane is parallel to another portion of the membrane so as to define an inside region between the two portions, and wherein the nutrient face abuts the inside region.