Kinetics of soluble microbial product formation in substrate-sufficient batch culture of activated sludge

The kinetics of soluble microbial product (SMP) formation under substrate-sufficient conditions appear to exhibit different patterns from substrate-limited cultures. However, energy spilling-associated SMP formation is not taken into account in the existing kinetic models and classification of SMP. Based on the concepts of growth yield and energy uncoupling, a kinetic model describing energy spilling-associated SMP formation in relation to the ratio of initial substrate concentration to initial biomass concentration (S ₀/X ₀) was developed for substrate-sufficient batch culture of activated sludge, and was verified by experimental data. The specific rate of energy spilling-associated SMP formation showed an increasing trend with the S ₀/X ₀ ratio up to its maximum value. The SMP productivity coefficient (α _p/e) was defined from the model on the basis of energy spilling-associated substrate consumption. Results revealed that less than 5% of energy spilling-associated substrate consumption was converted into SMP. Electronic Publication     

A kinetic model for energy spilling-associated product formation in substrate-sufficient continuous culture

It has been demonstrated that excess substrate can cause uncoupling between anabolism and catabolism, which leads to energy spilling. However, the Luedeking-Piret equation for product formation does not account for the energy spilling-associated product formation due to substrate excess. Based on the growth yield and energy uncoupling models proposed earlier, a kinetic model describing energy spilling-associated product formation in relation to residual substrate concentration was developed for substrate-sufficient continuous culture and was further verified with literature data. The parameters in the proposed model are well defined and have their own physical meanings. From this model, the specific productivity of unit energy spilling-associated substrate consumption, and the maximum product yield coefficient, can be determined. Results show that the majority of energy spilling-associated substrate consumption was converted to carbon dioxide and less than 6% was fluxed into the metabolites, while it was found that the maximum product yield coefficients varied markedly under different nutrient limitations. The results from this research can be used to develop the optimized bioprocess for maximizing valuable product formation.     

A general kinetic model for biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems: model evaluation

Hu et al. (2007) presented a general kinetic model for biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge (AS) systems in general, but for external nitrification (EN) BNRAS (ENBNRAS) systems in particular. In this article, this model is evaluated against a large number of experimental data sets. In this evaluation, the model is first used to simulate a wide variety of conventional internal nitrification (IN) BNRAS systems to evaluate its predictions and also evaluate the model parameters suggested by Hu et al. (2007), and to calibrate those constants for which values are not available in the literature. Simulation results indicate that the model, with appropriately calibrated parameters, is capable of predicting COD removal, nitrification and denitrification and two types of biological excess phosphorus removal (BEPR), namely aerobic and anoxic/aerobic P uptake BEPR. The model is then used to simulate the ENBNRAS systems to evaluate its capacity of simulating the behaviour of this system. Simulation results show that the model is capable of simulating the behaviour of the ENBNRAS systems, including COD, nitrification, denitrification and BEPR, particularly anoxic P uptake BEPR, with the values of kinetic and stoichiometric parameters obtained in modelling conventional BNRAS systems, except for micro(NIT), K(MP), eta(PAO) and eta(H) which required calibration.     

A general kinetic model for biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems: model development

In this article, a kinetic model is developed and presented for biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge (BNRAS) systems in general, but for external nitrification (EN) BNRAS (ENBNRAS) systems in particular. The model is based on the UCTPHO model, but includes some significant modifications, such as anoxic P uptake and associated denitrification by phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAOs). Some key features of the model are described and discussed before the model is presented. Model evaluation will be addressed in another article (Hu et al., 2007).     

Model of energy uncoupling for substrate-sufficient culture

The growth yields (Y(obs)) are greater under substrate-limited conditions than those under substrate-sufficient conditions in continuous cultures. This indicates that the excess substrate should cause uncoupling between anabolism and catabolism, which leads to energy spilling. Although the uncoupling between anabolism and catabolism has already been recognized in the microbiology literature, how to quantitatively describe such uncoupling remains unclear. Based on a balance on substrate reaction, a growth yield model was developed in relation to residual substrate concentration for substrate-sufficient continuous cultures. On the basis of that yield model, the concept of an uncoupling coefficient between anabolism and catabolism is defined in this work. A model describing the effect of the residual substrate concentration on the uncoupling coefficient of anabolism to catabolism is proposed. This model agrees very well with literature data. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 55: 571-576, 1997.     

A dynamic kinetic model of the activated sludge process

A kinetic model has been developed which describes the dynamic response of activated sludge to changes in substrate concentration. The well known phenomenon of “growth-rate hysteresis” can be explained by the simple yet biologically reasonable hypotheses of the model. Experimental results have verified the model quantitatively.     

Sequential substrate removal by activated sludge after a change in salt concentration

Previous studies indicated that when cells grown in a NaCl-free glucose medium were subjected to a high salt concentration, cellular constituents were released which were metabolized by the cells in preference to glucose. In the present study, cells grown on glucose in high salt medium were subjected to a shock loading of salt-free medium. In this case, the resulting lysate was not used in preference to glucose; the lysate was metabolized only after an acclimation period following glucose utilization. It was shown by injecting chloramphenicol into the reaction liquor during glucose metabolism that new protein synthesis was required in order to metabolize the lysate. This response represents an additional way in which a rapid change in salt concentration can adversely affect biological treatment of waste waters, and a new type of situation in which sequential removal of substrates occurs.     

Dual hydrolysis model of the slowly biodegradable substrate in activated sludge systems

Experimental assessment of the hydrolysis rate coefficients for both domestic sewage and a number of industrial wastewaters was performed with emphasis on two different hydrolysis mechanisms associated with the readily and slowly hydrolyzable COD fractions. The adopted dual hydrolysis model was justified on the basis of significantly different rate constants. The hydrolysis rate of particulate COD occurred at such a slow rate that would significantly interfere with endogenous decay. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Short-term batch studies on biological removal of chromium from synthetic wastewater using activated sludge biomass

Biological treatment of Cr(VI)-containing wastewater has drawn much attention recently as a method to treat environmental Cr(VI) contamination. The activated sludge method, due to its convenient operation and easy-to-scale-up, has been widely applied to treat municipal wastewater and some industrial wastewaters. In order to develop a suitable technique using activated sludge as the biomass to continuously remove Cr(VI) from wastewater, this paper investigated in short-term batch experiments the environmental elements affecting chromium biological removal from synthetic wastewater. The dissolved oxygen (DO), Cr(VI) initial concentration, biomass density, temperature, glucose content in the influent and contact time were observed to strongly influence chromium removal. It was found that the chromium removal efficiency decreased with the increase of DO and Cr(VI) initial concentration as well as glucose content in the feed, but increases in temperature and contact time improved the chromium removal efficiency. Although raising biomass concentration resulted in an increased chromium removal efficiency under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions, its influence on specific chromium removal was not significant.     

A kinetic model for the activated sludge process which considers diffusion and reaction in the microbial floc

A mathematical model has been developed which describes substrate removal, oxygen utilization, and biomass production in an aggregated microbial suspension containing the substrate as a soluble biodegradable material and a uniform floc size. It is applicable to both steady-state and transient conditions. The model, consisting of three partial differential equations and two ordinary differential equations, takes into account the flow pattern in the reactor, intraparticle mass transport of oxygen and substrate, and biochemical reaction by individual cells embedded in the floc. Efficient numerical solution of the coupled nonlinear equations is obtained using an implicit finite difference approach for both the reactor and floc equations. A convergent solution is realized through block interation utilizing the tridiagonal algorithm. Results indicate that a unifying theory of activated sludge dynamics will have to consider coupling between floc chemical kinetics and changes in the bulk liquid characteristics. Floc size emerges as an important influence on system performance. It appears necessary to distinguish between a system response caused by diffuslonal resistances and nutrient limitations within the floc and a response caused by physiological adaption when analyzing the transient behavior of an activated sludge process. Future research should be devoted to rigorous laboratory determinations of model parameters along with extensions to include limitations of nutrients other than orgabnic carbon and oxygen.     

A kinetic model for anaerobic digestion of biological sludge

The principal objective of this study was the development and evaluation of a comprehensive kinetic model capable of predicting digester performance when fed biological sludge, preliminary conversion mechanisms such as cell death, lysis, and hydrolysis responsible for rendering viable biological sludge organisms to available substrate were studied in depth. The results of this study indicate that hydrolysis of the dead, particulate biomass-primarily consisting of protein-is the slowest step, and therefore kinetically controls the overall process of anaerobic digestion of biological sludge. A kinetic model was developed which could accurately describe digester performance and predict effluent quality.     

Experimental studies on a kinetic model for design and operation of activated sludge processes

Previous experimentation in our laboratory has shown that the classical theory developed for continuous growth of pure cultures in completely mixed aerobic systems in which the recycle cell concentration factor, c (where c = X_R/X), is a selectable system constant, did not provide a suitable model for the heterogeneous (natural) populations of the activated sludge process. Another model was derived in which the recycle cell concentration, X_R was employed as a system constant instead of c, and computational analysis was performed. Laboratory pilot plant experimentation was undertaken in order to determine whether a “steady state” in aerator biological solids concentration, X?, and substrate concentration, S?, could be approached under this mode of operation. Studies were performed at various organic feed concentrations holding dilution rate, D, at 0.125 hr^?1, hydraulic recycle ratio, α, at 0.25, and X^R at 10,000 mg/liter. Also, values of maximum specific growth rate, μ_max, and saturation constant, K_s were determined. It was found that the model approached the steady state condition with heterogeneous populations more closely than did the classical model, and the high degree of treatment efficiency predicted by the model was demonstrated experimentally.     

Least-squares estimation of batch culture kinetic parameters

This article concerns the development of a simple and effective least-squares procedure for estimating the kinetic parameters in Monod expressions from batch culture data. The basic approach employed in this work was to translate the problem of parameter estimation to a mathematical model containing a single decision variable. The resulting model was then solved by an efficient one-dimensional search algorithm which can be adapted to any microcomputer or advanced programmable calculator. The procedure was tested on synthetic data (substrate concentrations) with different types and levels of error. The effect of endogeneous respiration on the estimated values of the kinetic parameters was also assessed. From the results of these analyses the least-squares procedure developed was concluded to be very effective.     

A non-structured pseudo-homogeneous model for the activated sludge process

The conventional activated sludge process has been in use for many years for treating wastewater. In this paper a non-structured pseudo-homogeneous model was developed to describe the process. Volume changes as well as the external resistance between the forming flocs and substrate were considered in the model. The kinetic model together with the values of parameters were obtained from the literature. A retention time of 12 hr was found to give over 95% removal of the substrate from the wastewater. Floc diameter, retention time, fraction of biomass recycled, substrate and biomass feed concentration were found to be important factors in the overall efficiency of the treatment process.     

The removal of Salmonella enteritidis in activated sludge

Salmonella destruction efficiencies of 99% were obtained after 10 h aeration at 15°C in a laboratory model of the activated sludge process. This study demonstrated that, in a batch process, the removal of salmonellas occurred in three phases. (i) By 4 h, 90% of the original inoculum had disappeared from the activated sludge, probably due mainly to predation by ciliated protozoa. The remaining 10% was distributed between the liquid phase (approximately 90%) and the sludge floc (approximately 10%). (ii) During the next 2 h this situation was inverted so that, by 6 h, more than 80% of the remaining salmonellas were then adsorbed to floc, leaving less than 20% in liquid suspension. (iii) From 6 h onwards there was a much slower decline of the remaining salmonellas attached to floc. The addition of dioctyl sodium sulphosuccinate after 4 h, inactivated the ciliated protozoa populations and completely eliminated the continued reduction of salmonellas from activated sludge observed previously.     

A mathematical model for RNA bacteriophage production in batch culture

The interaction between male-specific RNA phages and bacterial cells as well as the complete life cycle of RNA phages in the host cells are complicated phenomena. In this study, a mathematical model is proposed to describe the kinetics of RNA phage production in batch culture. The model consists of several important considerations: (1) adsorption and desorption of phages on cell pili, (2) injection and transport of viral RNA, (3) viral protein synthesis, (4) phage maturation, and (5) cell lysis. Experimental data of MS2 RNA phage production in E. coli C 300o bacteria culture were used to evaiuate the model parameters. Reasonably good fit was obtained between the model and one set of data. However, simulation study based on the estimated parameter values revealed a discrepancy between experimental observation and model prediction. It seems that variation both in F-piliation and in the competence of cells to be infected by phages through different phasae of growth must be taken into account in order to make the model useful.     

CHO工程细胞无血清悬浮分批培养的生长代谢特征及动力学模型

以悬浮适应的表达尿激酶原CHO工程细胞为研究对象,在100mL的摇瓶中进行无血清悬浮培养,以细胞密度、细胞活力、Pro-UK活性、葡萄糖比消耗速率(qglc)、乳酸比生产速率(qlac)、乳酸对葡萄糖的得率系数(Ylac/glc)为观察指标,同时以细胞有血清悬浮培养作为参照,考察CHO工程细胞无血清悬浮培养生长和代谢特征。观察结果表明,CHO工程细胞在无血清及有血清悬浮培养条件下表现为大致相似的细胞生长和代谢特征。在此基础上,依据实际检测的数据,应用MATLAB软件对细胞对数生长期的细胞生长、乳酸生成及葡萄糖消耗的模型参数进行非线性规划,获得全局性收敛的最优参数估计值,建立了细胞在无血清培养条件下的生长及代谢动力学模型。     

A batch reactor mass transfer kinetic model for immobilized biomass biosorption

Inactive cells of Rhizopus arrhizus have been immobilized into the form of particles of desirable particle size using a proprietary immobilization technique. The immobilized biomass particles are porous and are members of a new generation of biological origin adsorbents. The uranium adsorptive behavior of the biosorbent particles was modeled using a batch reactor mass transfer kinetic model of the biosorption process. The model successfully predicts the batch reactor adsorbate (uranium) concentration profiles and has provided significant insights on the way biosorbents function.     

Nutrient removal and sludge age in a sequencing batch reactor

The aim of this work was to establish a relation between the mean cellular retention time and the ability of activated sludge to remove phosphate and ammonium. A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a total volume of 1.94 m³ was fed with municipal wastewater and was operated under four different organic loading rates to obtain sludge ages of 23, 16, 6, and 3 days. The operational strategy included fill, anaerobic, aerobic, settling and draw phases. The experimental work lasted 445 days. Biological phosphate removal was achieved with sludge ages from 6 to 23 days. The highest PO₄-P removal rate observed was of 98% and corresponds to a 16-day sludge age; phosphate removal increased with the sludge age. A sludge age of 3 days resulted in a chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate of 81% and a sludge age of 23 days in a removal rate of 99%. Full nitrification was observed with a sludge age of 16 days. Nitrification increased with the sludge age. The 3-day sludge age did not allow nitrification. The phosphate concentrations in the biomass were inversely proportional to the sludge age.     

Steady-state model for activated sludge with constant recycle sludge concentration

In a previous report it was concluded that steady-state operation of completely mixed reactors for growth of heterogeneous microbial populations, i.e., activated sludge processes, was extremely difficult to attain if maintenance of a constant sludge recycle ratio, c, was required, and equations were devised in which the concentration of cells in the recycle, x_R, rather than the recycle ratio, was constant. In this report the equations are developed and computational analysis shows the effect on substrate and cell concentrations in the reactor of operational variables such as inflowing feed concentration, hydraulic recycle ratio, recycle sludge concentration, dilution rate, and the biological “constants” μ_m, k_s, and Y. The stabilizing effect of operating with constant x_R on the dilute-out pattern is shown.