Abstract

GONZALEZ-BRAMBILA, M.  and  LOPEZ-ISUNZA, F.. Membrane-attached biofilm reactor under different flow rate conditions in the treatment of a synthetic wastewater. Rev. Mex. Ing. Quím [online]. 2008, vol.7, n.3, pp.183-193. ISSN 1665-2738.

This work studies about the effect of the flow mass velocity on a model wastewater in a membrane attached biofilm reactor, for its treatment. Three different mass flow recirculation rates in the reactor are compared to assess the impact of interfacial mass transfer on the sodium acetate consumption. The system used was a single-tube membrane attached biofilm reactor, connected to a reservoir with the model waste water. The substrate and oxygen dissolved concentrations in the liquid, were measure at the exit of the reactor. The decreases of substrate and oxygen concentration were measured along batch operation, using different recirculation flow rates. A dynamic model was employed to predict the observed evolution of substrate and oxygen dissolved in the tank. The model accounts for the counter-diffusion of substrate and oxygen as well as for the bioreaction within the biofilm, and the external mass transfer. The interfacial mass transport coefficients were estimated specifically for each one of the different flow rates used and they were compared to those calculated from the Blasius' solution to the boundary layer equations. The model successfully predicted concentration measurements for the different sets of experiments, and it was able to predict the concentration profiles and reaction profiles inside the biofilm.

Keywords : biofilm reactor; mass transport; parameter estimation.

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