Adsorption Effect on the Dynamic Response of a Biochemical Reaction in a Biofilm Reactor for Wastewater Treatment

The dynamic behavior of a completely mixed, three‐phase, fluidized bed biofilm reactor treating simulated domestic wastewater was studied with step changes in inlet concentration. It was found that the response curves showed second order characteristics, i.e., as the inlet concentration was increased, the outlet concentration also increased, reached a peak value and then decreased until it leveled to a new steady‐state value corresponding to the new inlet concentration level. Nonlinear regression analysis was performed using Monod‐type rate equations with and without an adsorption term. As a result, the theoretical curve of the kinetic model that incorporates the adsorption term has best fit to the actual response in most cases. Thus, it was concluded that the adsorption of a substrate onto the biofilm and carrier particles has a significant effect on the dynamic response in biofilm processes.     

Response of biological reactors to sinusoidal variations of substrate concentration

A well-mixed biological reactor with continuous addition of biological solids was subjected to sinusoidal variations in inlet substrate concentration. The phase lag between inlet and outlet concentrations increased with increasing frequency. The deviation of measured substrate concentrations from initial steady-state concentrations was observed to have a maximum near a frequency of 1 cycle per residence time. Measured concentrations of substrate and biomass in the reactor differed significantly from concentrations predicted by the Monod kinetic model.     

Steady state characteristics of acclimated hydrogenotrophic methanogens on inorganic substrate in continuous chemostat reactors

A Monod model has been used to describe the steady state characteristics of the acclimated mesophilic hydrogenotrophic methanogens in experimental chemostat reactors. The bacteria were fed with mineral salts and specific trace metals and a H(2)/CO(2) supply was used as a single limited substrate. Under steady state conditions, the growth yield ( [Formula: see text] ) reached 11.66 g cells per mmol of H(2)/CO(2) consumed. The daily cells generation average was 5.67 x 10(11), 5.25 x 10(11), 4.2 x 10(11) and 2.1 x 10(11) cells/l-culture for the dilutions 0.071/d, 0.083/d, 0.1/d and 0.125/d, respectively. The maximum specific growth rate (mu(max)) and the Monod half-saturation coefficient (K(S)) were 0.15/d and 0.82 g/L, respectively. Using these results, the reactor performance was simulated. During the steady state, the simulation predicts the dependence of the H(2)/CO(2) concentration (S) and the cell concentration (X) on the dilution rate. The model fitted the experimental data well and was able to yield a maximum methanogenic activity of 0.24 L CH(4)/g VSS.d. The dilution rate was estimated to be 0.1/d. At the dilution rate of 0.14/d, the exponential cells washout was achieved.     

Unstable steady state operations of substrate inhibited cultures by dissolved oxygen control

Microorganism kinetic growth characterized by substrate inhibition was investigated by means of a continuous stirred tank reactor equipped with a feedback controller of the medium feeding flow rate. The aerobic growth of Pseudomonas sp. OX1 with phenol as carbon/energy source was adopted as a case study to test a new control strategy using dissolved oxygen concentration as a state variable. The controller was successful in steadily operating bioconversion under intrinsically unstable conditions. A simple model of the controlled system was proposed to set the feedback controller. The specific growth rate of Pseudomonas sp. OX1 was successfully described by means of the Haldane model. The regression of the experimental data yielded μ(M)=0.26 h(-1), K(Ph)=5×10(-3)g/L and K(I)=0.2g/L. The biomass-to-substrate fractional yield as a function of the specific growth rate did not change moving from substrate-inhibited to substrate-deficient state. The data was modelled according to the Pirt model: m=1.7×10(-2)g/(gh), Y(X/Ph)(Th)=1.3g/g. The specific growth rates calculated for batch and continuous growth were compared.     

Kinetic model for dynamic response of three-phase fluidized bed biofilm reactor for wastewater treatment

Step changes in inlet concentration has been introduced into the completely mixed three-phase fluidized bed biofilm reactor treating simulated domestic wastewater to study the dynamic behavior of the system and to establish the suitable kinetic model from the response curve. Three identical reactors having different biomass volumes were operated in parallel. It was found that the response curves showed second-order characteristics, and thus at least two first-order differential equations are necessary to simulate the substrate and biomass response curves. Nonlinear regression analysis was performed using different types of rate equations and their corresponding kinetic parameters were used to simulate the theoretical response curve using the Runge–Kutta numerical integration method. As a result, although various types of conventional biokinetic models such as Monod, Haldane and Andrew types were examined, all the theoretical substrate response curves underestimated time constants compared to the actual substrate response plots. On the other hand, the theoretical curve of the kinetic model that incorporates adsorption term has best fit to the actual response in most of the cases. Thus, it was concluded that adsorption of substrate onto biofilm and carrier particles has significant effect on the dynamic response in biofilm processes.     

Biodegradation by immobilized bacteria in an airlift-loop reactor-influence of biofilm diffusion limitation

Naphthalene-2-sulfonate was degraded by submerse growing Pseudomonads in a chemostat culture. The kinetic parameters for the Monod equation, including Pirts maintenance energy, were calculated from these experiments regarding naphthalene-2-sulfonate as substrate and oxygene as cosubstrate. By immobilizing the bacteria on sand particles, the degradation of naphthalene-2-sulfonate was carried out in a specialy designed three-phase airlift-loop reactor in a completely fluidized state. From these experiments, the influence of biofilm diffusion limitation on reaction kinetics and criteria for stable biofilm formation on sand particles were obtained.     

Quantitative comparison of lactose and glucose utilization in Bifidobacterium longum cultures

In batch cultures, Bifidobacterium longum SH2 has a higher final cell concentration and greater substrate consumption when grown on lactose versus glucose. Continuous cultures were used to compare lactose and glucose utilization by B. longum quantitatively. In the continuous culture, the estimated maintenance coefficients (m) were similar when on lactose and glucose; the maximum cell yield coefficient (Y(X/S)(max)) was higher on lactose; and the specific consumption rate of lactose (q(S)) was lower than that of glucose. Assuming that cell growth followed the Monod model, the maximum specific growth rates (mu(max)) and saturation constants (K(S)) in lactose and glucose media were determined using the Hanes-Woolf plots. The respective values were 0.40 h(-)(1) and 78 mg/L for lactose and 0.46 h(-)(1) and 697 mg/L for glucose. The kinetic parameters of the continuous cultures showed that B. longum preferred lactose to glucose, although the specific consumption rate of glucose was higher than that of lactose.     

Phenol biodegradation by Pseudomonas putida DSM 548 in a batch reactor

Phenol biodegradation in a batch reactor using a pure culture of Pseudomonas putida DSM 548 was studied. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the kinetics of biodegradation by measuring biomass growth rates and phenol concentration as a function of time in a batch reactor. The Haldane equation μ=μ(m)S/((K(s)+S+S(2))/K(i)) adequately describes cell growth with kinetic constants μ(m)=0.436h(-1), K(s)=6.19mgl(-1), K(i)=54.1mgl(-1). These values are in the range of those published in literature for pure or mixed cultures degrading phenol.     

Modeling of an aerobic biofilm reactor with double-limiting substrate kinetics: bifurcational and dynamical analysis

A mathematical model of an aerobic biofilm reactor is presented to investigate the bifurcational patterns and the dynamical behavior of the reactor as a function of different key operating parameters. Suspended cells and biofilm are assumed to grow according to double limiting kinetics with phenol inhibition (carbon source) and oxygen limitation. The model presented by Russo et al. is extended to embody key features of the phenomenology of the granular‐supported biofilm: biofilm growth and detachment, gas–liquid oxygen transport, phenol, and oxygen uptake by both suspended and immobilized cells, and substrate diffusion into the biofilm. Steady‐state conditions and stability, and local dynamic behavior have been characterized. The multiplicity of steady states and their stability depend on key operating parameter values (dilution rate, gas–liquid mass transfer coefficient, biofilm detachment rate, and inlet substrate concentration). Small changes in the operating conditions may be coupled with a drastic change of the steady‐state scenario with transcritical and saddle‐node bifurcations. The relevance of concentration profiles establishing within the biofilm is also addressed. When the oxygen level in the liquid phase is <10% of the saturation level, the biofilm undergoes oxygen starvation and the active biofilm fraction becomes independent of the dilution rate. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2011     

Enzymatic saccharification of solid residue of olive mill in a batch reactor

This paper describes the enzymatic hydrolysis of solid residue of olive mill (OMRS) in a batch reactor with the Trichoderma reesei enzyme. Before enzymatic saccharification, crude lignocellulosic material is submitted to alkaline pre-treatment with NaOH. Optimum conditions of the pre-treatment (temperature of T=100 degrees C and OMRS-NaOH concentration ratio of about R=20) were determined. The optimum enzymatic conditions determined were as follows: pH of about 5, temperature of T=50 degrees C and enzyme to mass substrate mass ratio E/S=0.1g enzyme (g OMRS)(-1). The maximum saccharification yield obtained at optimum experimental conditions was about 50%. The experimental results agree with Lineweaver Burk's formula for low substrate concentrations. At substrate concentrations greater than 40gdm(-3), inhibitory effects were encountered. The kinetic constants obtained for the batch reactor were K(m)=0.1gdm(-3)min(-1) and V(m)=800gdm(-3).     

Ethanol fermentation in an immobilized cell reactor using Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fermentation of sugar by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for production of ethanol in an immobilized cell reactor (ICR) was successfully carried out to improve the performance of the fermentation process. The fermentation set-up was comprised of a column packed with beads of immobilized cells. The immobilization of S. cerevisiae was simply performed by the enriched cells cultured media harvested at exponential growth phase. The fixed cell loaded ICR was carried out at initial stage of operation and the cell was entrapped by calcium alginate. The production of ethanol was steady after 24 h of operation. The concentration of ethanol was affected by the media flow rates and residence time distribution from 2 to 7 h. In addition, batch fermentation was carried out with 50 g/l glucose concentration. Subsequently, the ethanol productions and the reactor productivities of batch fermentation and immobilized cells were compared. In batch fermentation, sugar consumption and ethanol production obtained were 99.6% and 12.5% v/v after 27 h while in the ICR, 88.2% and 16.7% v/v were obtained with 6 h retention time. Nearly 5% ethanol production was achieved with high glucose concentration (150 g/l) at 6 h retention time. A yield of 38% was obtained with 150 g/l glucose. The yield was improved approximately 27% on ICR and a 24 h fermentation time was reduced to 7 h. The cell growth rate was based on the Monod rate equation. The kinetic constants (K(s) and mu(m)) of batch fermentation were 2.3 g/l and 0.35 g/lh, respectively. The maximum yield of biomass on substrate (Y(X-S)) and the maximum yield of product on substrate (Y(P-S)) in batch fermentations were 50.8% and 31.2% respectively. Productivity of the ICR were 1.3, 2.3, and 2.8 g/lh for 25, 35, 50 g/l of glucose concentration, respectively. The productivity of ethanol in batch fermentation with 50 g/l glucose was calculated as 0.29 g/lh. Maximum production of ethanol in ICR when compared to batch reactor has shown to increase approximately 10-fold. The performance of the two reactors was compared and a respective rate model was proposed. The present research has shown that high sugar concentration (150 g/l) in the ICR column was successfully converted to ethanol. The achieved results in ICR with high substrate concentration are promising for scale up operation. The proposed model can be used to design a lager scale ICR column for production of high ethanol concentration.     

Kinetic study of the conversion of different substrates to lactic acid using Lactobacillus bulgaricus

Lactic acid fermentation includes several reactions in association with the microorganism growth. A kinetic study was performed of the conversion of multiple substrates to lactic acid using Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Batch experiments were performed to study the effect of different substrates (lactose, glucose, and galactose) on the overall bioreaction rate. During the first hours of fermentation, glucose and galactose accumulated in the medium and the rate of hydrolysis of lactose to glucose and galactose was faster than the convesion of these substrates. Once the microorganism built the necessary enzymes for the substrate conversion to lactic acid, the conversion rate was higher for glucose than for galactose. The inoculum preparation was performed in such a way that healthy young cells were obtained. By using this inoculum, shorter fermentation times with very little lag phase were observed. The consumption patterns of the different substrates converted to lactic acid were studied to determine which substrate controls the overall reaction for lactic acid production. A mathematical model (unstructured Monod type) was developed to describe microorganism growth and lactic acid production. A good fit with a simple equation was obtained. It was found experimentally that the approximate ratio of cell to substrate was 1 to 10, the growth yield coefficient (Y(XS)) was 0.10 g cell/g substrate, the product yield (Y(PS)) was 0.90 g lactic acid/g substrate, and the alpha parameter in the Luedeking-Piret equation was 9. The Monod kinetic parameters were obtained. The saturation constant (K(S)) was 3.36 g/L, and the specific growth rate (microm ) was 1.14 l/h.     

Anaerobic treatment of wastewater with high suspended solids from a bulk drug industry using fixed film reactor (AFFR)

Studies were carried out on the treatment of wastewater from a bulk drug industry using an anaerobic fixed film reactor (AFFR) designed and fabricated in the laboratory. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total dissolved solids (TDS) of the wastewater were found to be very high with low biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to COD ratio and high total suspended solid (TSS) concentration. Acclimatization of seed consortia and startup of the reactor was carried out by directly using the wastewater, which resulted in reducing the period of startup to 30 days. The reactor was studied at different organic loading rates (OLR) and it was found that the optimum OLR was 10 kg COD/m(3)/day. The wastewater under investigation, which had a considerable quantity of SS, was treated anaerobically without any pretreatment. COD and BOD of the reactor outlet wastewater were monitored and at steady state and optimum OLR 60-70% of COD and 80-90% of BOD were removed. The reactor was subjected to organic shock loads at two different OLR and the reaction could withstand the shocks and performance could be restored to normalcy at that OLR. The results obtained indicated that AFFR could be used efficiently for the treatment of wastewater from a bulk drug industry having high COD, TDS and TSS.     

Anaerobic treatment of wastewater with high suspended solids from a bulk drug industry using fixed film reactor (AFFR)

Studies are carried out on the treatment of wastewater from a bulk drug industry using an anaerobic fixed film reactor (AFFR) designed and fabricated in the laboratory. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total dissolved solids (TDS) of the wastewater are found to be very high with low Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) to COD ratio and high total suspended solid (TSS) concentration. Acclimatization of seed consortia and start up of the reactor is carried out by directly using the wastewater, which resulted in reducing the period of startup to 30 days. The reactor is studied at different organic loading rates (OLR) and it is found that the optimum OLR is 10 kg COD/m3/day. The wastewater under investigation, which is having considerable quantity of SS, is treated anaerobically without any pretreatment. The COD and BOD of the reactor outlet wastewater are monitored and reduction at steady state and optimum OLR is observed to be 60-70% of COD and 80-90% of BOD. The reactor is subjected to organic shock loads at two different OLR and it is observed that the reactor could withstand shocks and performance could be restored to normalcy at that OLR. The results obtained indicated that AFFR could be used efficiently for the treatment of wastewater from a bulk drug industry having high COD, TDS and TSS.     

Kinetic modeling of aerobic biodegradation of high oil and grease rendering wastewater

Batch scale activated sludge kinetic studies were undertaken for the treatment of pet food wastewater characterized by oil and grease concentrations of up to 21,500 mg/L, COD and BOD concentrations of 75,000 and 60,000 mg/L, respectively as well as effluent from the batch dissolved air flotation (DAF) system. The conducted kinetics studies showed that Haldane Model fit the substrates and biomass data better than Monod model in DAF-pretreated wastewater, while the modified hydrolysis Monod model better fit the raw wastewater kinetic data. For the DAF pretreated batches, Haldane Model kinetic coefficients k, K(S), Y and Ki values of 1.28-5.35 g COD/g VSS-d, 17,833-23,477 mg/L, 0.13-0.41 mg VSS/mg COD and 48,168 mg/L, respectively were obtained reflecting the slow biodegradation rate. Modified hydrolysis Monod model kinetic constants for the raw wastewater i.e., k, K(S), Y, and K(H) varied from 1-1.3 g COD/g VSS-d, 5580-5600 mg COD/l, 0.08-0.85 mg VSS/mg COD, and 0.21-0.66 d(-1), respectively.     

Re-interpretation of the logistic equation for batch microbial growth in relation to Monod kinetics

Aims:  To determine the underlying substrate utilization mechanism in the logistic equation for batch microbial growth by revealing the relationship between the logistic and Monod kinetics. Also, to determine the logistic rate constant in terms of Monod kinetic constants.
Methods and Results:  The logistic equation used to describe batch microbial growth was related to the Monod kinetics and found to be first-order in terms of the substrate and biomass concentrations. The logistic equation constant was also related to the Monod kinetic constants. Similarly, the substrate utilization kinetic equations were derived by using the logistic growth equation and related to the Monod kinetics.
Conclusion:  It is revaled that the logistic growth equation is a special form of the Monod growth kinetics when substrate limitation is first-order with respect to the substrate concentration. The logistic rate constant ( k ) is directly proportional to the maximum specific growth rate constant ( μ _m) and initial substrate concentration ( S ₀) and also inversely related to the saturation constant ( K _s).
Significance and Impact of the Study:  The semi-empirical logistic equation can be used instead of Monod kinetics at low substrate concentrations to describe batch microbial growth using the relationship between the logistic rate constant and the Monod kinetic constants.     

Performance of inverse anaerobic fluidized bed reactor for treating high strength organic wastewater during start-up phase

The aim of this work is to report on the physical characteristics of carrier material (perlite), biomass growth on the carrier material and the biogas production during an apparent steady state period in an inverse anaerobic fluidized bed reactor (IAFBR) for treating high strength organic wastewater. Before starting up the reactor, physical properties of the carrier material were determined. One millimeter diameter perlite particle is found to have a wet specific density of 295 kg/m(3) with specific surface area of 7.010 m(2)/g. This material has provided a good surface for biomass attachment and development. The biofilm concentration (in terms of attached volatile solids (AVS)) attached to carrier material was found to be 0.66 g(AVS)/g(solid). Most particles have been covered with a thin biofilm of uniform thickness. Once the inverse anaerobic fluidized bed system reached the steady state, the organic load was increased step wise by reducing hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 2 days to 0.16 day, while maintaining the constant feed of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration. This system has achieved 84% COD removal and reached the biogas production of 13.22 l/l/d at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 35 kgCOD/m(3)/d.     

噬菌体RB69 DNA聚合酶以不正确的核苷酸为底物的聚合反应的稳态动力学研究

测定了ＲＢ６９ ＤＮＡ 聚合酶以不正确的核苷酸（ｒＮＴＰ、ｄｄＮＴＰ以及碱基不配对的ｄＮＴＰ）为底物进行聚合反应的稳态动力学常数,并与Ｋｌｅｎｏｗ 酶进行了比较．结果表明,ＲＢ６９ ＤＮＡ 聚合酶在以不正确的核苷酸为底物进行聚合反应时,其Ｋｍ 值与正确底物参入时相比有大幅度提高,而ｋｃａｔ保持不变或下降幅度较小．而Ｋｌｅｎｏｗ 酶在利用不正确的核苷酸为底物时,与正确底物参入时相比,其ｋｃａｔ大幅度下降,而Ｋｍ （或ＫＤ）基本保持不变或上升较小幅度．两种酶不同的动力学特点反映出它们不同的底物选择机制．     

A pilot plant study using a vertically moving biofilm process to treat municipal wastewater

The pilot plant study comprised the construction and monitoring of a new vertically moving biofilm system (VMBS) for treating municipal wastewater. The system operated on site for 11 months. The biofilm module in this system, consisting of high surface area plastic media, was vertically and repeatedly moved in cycles up into the air and down into the wastewater. The vertical movement of the biofilm module supplied sufficient oxygen for the removal of the organic carbon in the wastewater. The overall physical oxygen transfer coefficient (Kla) measured at the cycle speed of six cycles per minute was 2.53 per hour. During the pilot study, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the bulk fluid were in the range of 1.5-5 mg/l. It was found that the areal removal rate of filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD) was up to 35 g COD/(m(2)day) and the bulk fluid volumetric filtered COD removal rate was 2.62 kg COD/(m(3)day). The field experiment showed that clogging commonly found in other biofilm systems did not occur in this system. The power consumption was in the range of 0.09-0.25 k Wh/m(3) wastewater flow, 0.40-2.19 k Wh/kg COD removal and 1.24-1.74 k Wh/kg BOD removal. The new biofilm system offers potential for reduced reactor volumes, energy saving, simple construction and easy operation.     

Kinetic modelling of organic matter removal in 80 horizontal flow reed beds for domestic sewage treatment

This paper reports a comparative study of four kinetic models that can be applied in the design of subsurface horizontal flow reed beds for wastewater treatment. The models were developed from different combinations of Monod kinetics, first-order kinetics, continuous stirred-tank reactor and plug flow patterns. Using three statistical parameters (coefficient of determination, relative root mean square error, and model efficiency), critical examinations were made on the accuracy of these models. For predicting organic matter removal, the combination of Monod kinetics with plug flow pattern gave the closest match between theoretical predictions and actual performances of 80 horizontal flow reed beds. In all four models, the coefficients of BOD removal were found to increase slightly with BOD loading. The ratios of BOD/COD had no correlation with the coefficients, indicating that in the horizontal flow reed beds the degradation of organic matter is insensitive to the nature of organics in the wastewater.