The volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient ($$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
) is an essential parameter in aerobic high-cell density fermentation where the availability of oxygen to growing microorganisms is a limiting factor. Bioprocess teams looking to scale-up/down between the Eppendorf BioBLU 0.3f single-use vessel and the BioFlo® 320 reusable vessel bioreactors may find it challenging using a matched $$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
. The maximum $$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
of the BioFlo® 320 reusable bioreactor was 109 h−1, which was approximately twice that of the BioBLU 0.3f single-use vessel. The results here show no overlap in $$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
values when both bioreactors were compared and thus conclude that scalability based on $$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
is not viable. The maximum $$k_{l} a$$
k
l
a
of the Eppendorf BioBLU 0.3f single-use reported here was 47 h−1 compared to that of the manufacturer’s value of 2500 h−1, indicating a 53-fold difference. This discrepancy was attributed to the incompatible sulfite addition method used by the manufacturer for estimation.
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