---
title: Ambr® 250 vs. 2,000 L - CFD mixing comparison | p4b
description: "Ambr® 250 with and without pDS insert vs. a 2,000 L XCellerex™: local mixing times by CFD, the S/M/L insert set and shear along cell lifelines."
image: https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/raw_assets/public/p4b/images/og-default.png
---

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CFD comparison · Ambr 250 · 2,000 L

# Same vessel. Production-scale mixing.

We simulated an unmodified Ambr 250, the same vessel with a pDS insert and a 2,000 L XCellerex production bioreactor. Without the insert the Ambr mixes about ten times faster than the production tank. With it, half of the liquid is mixed after the same time as at 2,000 L.

Ambr® 250**~4 s**half mixed

Ambr® 250 + pDS**~37 s**half mixed

2,000 L XCellerex™**~38 s**half mixed

Mixing race

## Inject a tracer. See which liquid is mixed when.

Every dot is an equal share of the liquid. It lights up once its local tracer concentration stays within ±5 % of the final value - evaluated cell by cell in the CFD.

**-** Ambr® 250 0.25 L, as supplied

**-** Ambr® 250 + pDS same vessel, insert set to 2,000 L

**-** 2,000 L XCellerex™ production scale

t = 38.0 s after injection

1×

5×

Share of the liquid that is locally mixed, over the time after tracer injection. Drag across the chart to scrub. Ambr® runs: mean of 11 tracer pulses, 2,000 L: one pulse that ran until the tank was fully mixed. Dots are placed at random - the timing comes from the CFD, their position does not.

One vessel, several scales

## Which insert matches your production tank?

Slide to the time your production bioreactor needs until half of its liquid is mixed. The inserts of the Ambr 250 set span the range from the lab vessel itself up to production scale - run them side by side and you test your process at several scales in one experiment.

Don't know that time for your tank? We simulate it - it is the first step of every project.

Your production tank: half mixed after**38 s**

Ambr® 250 as is · 4 s

2,000 L XCellerex™ (CFD) · 38 s

[Request insert M](https://www.p4b.io/contact#quote)

A closer look

## When each part of the liquid is mixed

The bars show the window in which most of the liquid becomes mixed - from the first 10 % to 90 %. The tick marks the moment half of the liquid is mixed, where the Ambr® 250 with insert and the 2,000 L tank meet.

Depending on your process, other parts of this window can matter more - the slow end for oxygen-limited or feed-sensitive cultures, for example. We design the insert set for the metric that drives your scale-up risk.

Bar: 10 % to 90 % of the liquid mixed. Tick: half mixed.

All numbers

|  | Ambr® 250 | Ambr® 250 + pDS | 2,000 L XCellerex™ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

Classic mixing time = time until the coefficient of variation of the tracer over the whole volume drops below 5 %. It is dominated by the slowest few percent of the liquid, which is why it differs more between the vessels than the local mixing times.

What the cells feel

## Slower mixing, no new stress

A structure in the vessel could create new high-shear spots. The lifelines - the conditions a cell meets along its path through the vessel - show it does not.

The median shear stress drops with the insert, the upper quartile stays where it is. The 2,000 L tank is gentler still: pDS reproduces the mixing of production scale, not its power input.

How we computed it

## The method behind the numbers

### Flow

Transient lattice-Boltzmann CFD of the liquid in each vessel, same grid resolution for all three. Both Ambr 250 runs at 500 rpm, the 2,000 L XCellerex at 33 rpm.

### Local mixing time

Several tracer pulses per run, spaced to suit the vessel - the slower it mixes, the longer the gap between pulses. For every liquid cell we record when its concentration last left the ±5 % band around the final value; the distribution over the volume gives the curves above.

### Lifelines

100,000 particles per vessel follow the resolved flow and record the shear stress they meet along their path - summarised as box plots over all recorded points.

What else we look at

## From mixing time to what the cells experience

### [![Glucose and dissolved oxygen in a 2 L and a 15,000 L bioreactor](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/video/gradients-2l-vs-15000l.webp) Gradients O2 and nutrient gradients Depleted zones at different process intensities in a 15,000 L tank. Explore →](https://www.p4b.io/cfd#explorer)

### [![CFD streamlines in a stirred bioreactor](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/cfd-streamlines.webp) Lifelines Cell experiences How often, how long and how hard cells meet extreme conditions. Learn more →](https://www.p4b.io/cfd?hsLang=en)

### [![Lab bioreactors with and without pDS insert](https://www.p4b.io/hubfs/website/lab-reactors.webp) Experiment 3 L that mixes like 2,000 L pH-shift experiment and CHO process at the University of Stuttgart. Read →](https://www.p4b.io/insights/university-of-stuttgart-3l-mixes-like-2000l?hsLang=en)

Get in touch

## Accelerate your process development.

Let’s discuss how p4b can help your team accelerate process development and bring your product to market faster.

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![Lena Achleitner](https://www.p4b.io/hs-fs/hubfs/website/team/lena-avatar.webp?width=84&height=84&name=lena-avatar.webp)

**Lena Achleitner**Senior Bioprocess Engineer, Key Account Manager[lena.achleitner@p4b.io](mailto:lena.achleitner@p4b.io)

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