Patent ID: 7156985

Claim:
A bioreactor system comprised of: a) a vessel having a chamber defined by an enclosing cylindrical wall having an upper cylindrical section, a middle cylindrical section, and a lower cylindrical section, a roof, and a floor, wherein said vessel contains at least one inlet port located within said lower cylindrical section of said cylindrical wall for receiving a feed stream containing a biodegradable contaminant and a first outlet port located within said lower cylindrical section of said cylindrical wall for removing bioreactor contents, a second outlet port located within said lower cylindrical section of said cylindrical wall, and a third outlet port located within said upper cylindrical section of said cylindrical wall, and a plurality of inlet ports through said roof; b) a heat transfer zone located within said vessel between said third outlet port and said roof, which heat transfer zone is comprised of: i) a first conducting means for conducting ambient air into said heat transfer zone; ii) a second conducting means for conducting bioreactor liquid into said heat transfer zone; iii) a distribution means comprised of a plurality of nozzles in fluid communication with said second outlet port for distributing the conducted bioreactor liquid in the form of droplets into said heat transfer zone; and iv) at least one vapor outlet port located in said roof of said vessel for exhausting air from the bioreactor.