Mass transfer and reaction in a biofilm airlift suspension reactor

✍ Scribed by C. Nicolella; M.C.M. van Loosdrecht; J.J. Heijnen

• Book ID: 104107956
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 319 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/s0009-2509(98)00107-9

✦ Synopsis

Mass transfer and reaction were studied in a lab-scale biofilm airlift suspension reactor. A new approach for the determination of liquid-solid mass transfer coefficients in biofilm systems under reacting conditions is presented. The method is based on the analysis of oxygen consumption in a biofilm airlift suspension reactor and a biological oxygen-monitoring system and allows the independent estimation of gas-liquid and liquid-solid mass transfer coefficient and biofilm reaction rate.

The influence of some operating conditions (solid loading, particle size and gas flow rate) on the liquid-solid mass transfer coefficient in biofilm airlift suspension reactors was investigated and a correlation for the mass transfer to biofilm-coated particles is proposed. Liquid-solid mass transfer to biofilm particles was proven to be mainly influenced by gas velocity, whilst particle size and solid loading had minor effect. The liquid-solid mass transfer coefficient measured for biofilm-coated particles was found to be smaller (by a factor varying from 5 to 25%) than the values reported for rigid particles.