Influence of the type of organisms on the biomass hold-up in a fluidized-bed reactor

Summary In the last few years, the use of fluidized-bed reactors for biological wastewater treatment has got increasing attention. In 1981, Shieh et al. proposed a model to predict the biomass concentration in a fluidized-bed reactor. From this model one can see that the biofilm density plays a very important role in determining the total biomass hold-up. In this article the influence of the type of carbon source on the biomass concentration, and as a consequence the type of organisms selected, is studied. The growth of a filamentous, budforming bacteria in a reactor treating nitrate rich surface water supplied with methanol as carbon source, results in a biomass concentration only half of the concentration which can normally be obtained in a fluidized-bed reactor treating synthetic wastewater; in this latter case rod-shaped bacteria are enriched which permit a dense packing.     

Continuous coagulation of milk using immobilized enzymes in a fluidized-bed reactor

Milk-clotting enzymes such as pepsin, chymosin, chymotrypsin, and M. miehei proteases were immobilized on porous, alkylamine glass and incorporated into a fluidized-bed continuous coagulation scheme. Only pepsin and calf rennet retained sufficient activity towards skim milk to warrant further studies. Comparison of kinetic data with fixed-bed reactors revealed the overall superior performance of fluidized beds; higher clotting activities were possible while avoiding plugging problems and high pressure drops common to fixed-bed reactors. Film diffusion and catalyst back-mixing appear to be significant factors in the overall kinetics. All enzymes lost activity on exposure to skim milk. The inactivation rates were lower at high substrate pH and insignificantly affected by reactor temperature. Nitrogen and sialic acid accumulation on the porous glass paralleled the loss in activity in the initial stages. Attempts to regenerate the immobilized enzymes were partially successful.     

Mixing and phase hold-ups variations due to gas production in anaerobic fluidized-bed digesters: influence on reactor performance

The influence of mixing and phase hold-ups on gas-producing fluidized-bed reactors was investigated and compared with an ideal flow reactor performance (CSTR). The liquid flow in the anaerobic fluidized bed reactor could be described by the classical axially dispersed plug flow model according to measurements of residence time distribution. Gas effervescence in the fluidized bed was responsible for bed contraction and for important gas hold-up, which reduced the contact time between the liquid and the bioparticles. These results were used to support the modeling of large-scale fluidized-bed reactors. The biological kinetics were determined on a 180-L reactor treating wine distillery wastewater where the overall total organic carbon uptake velocity could be described by a Monod model. The outlet concentration and the concentration profile in the reactor appeared to be greatly influenced by hydrodynamic limitations. The biogas effervescence modifies the mixing characteristics and the phase hold-ups. Bed contraction and gas hold-up data are reported and correlated with liquid and gas velocities. It is shown that the reactor performance can be affected by 10% to 15%, depending on the mode of operation and recycle ratio used. At high organic loading rates, reactor performance is particularly sensitive to gas effervescence effects. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Moving-Medium Biofilm Reactors

Four moving-medium biofilm reactors treating wastewater were reviewed in this paper: the rotating biological contactor (RBC), the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), the vertically moving biofilm reactor (VMBR) and the fluidized-bed reactor (FBR). The RBC process has been applied widely. MBBR is a good process for upgrading current wastewater treatment systems. VMBR is suitable for treating small wastewater flows. FBR can maximize pollutant removals and minimize sludge production.     

Fluidized-bed immobilized-enzyme reactor for the hydrolysis of cornstarch to glucose

We have developed an economical fluidized-bed immobilized-enzyme cornstarch hydrolysis reactor employing an inexpensive glucoamylase-on-alumina (covalently bonded) catalyst having a high initial activity (130 units/g) and excellent long term stability (t_1/2 = 6450 hr at 50°C). The reactor can give higher yields of dextrose from streams containing ～30% (wt) low dextrose equivalent (DE) cornstarch than can a comparable fixed-bed reactor because its design exploits the fact that fluidixation permits the use of very small catalyst particles (down to 50μm in our case) which overcomes the yield-limiting diffusion-associated problems encountered in the use of conventional fixed-bed cornstarch hydrolysis reactors. Furthermore, even when small catalyst particles are used the fluidized-bed reactor does not suffer from plugging and high pressure drop problems typical of fixed-bed reactors. The results of an initial economic analysis based on bench-scale results indicate that the processing cost for a plant using this new technology to produce 100 × 10⁶lb dextrose/year from low DE cornstarch would be as much as 33% lower than for a comparable plant employing conventional soluble-enzyme technology.     

Channel structures in aerobic biofilms of fixed-film reactors treating contaminated groundwater.

Scanning electron microscopy, confocal scanning laser microscopy, and fatty acid methyl ester profiles were used to study the development, organization, and structure of aerobic multispecies biofilm communities in granular activated-carbon (GAC) fluidized-bed reactors treating petroleum-contaminated groundwaters. The sequential development of biofilm structure was studied in a laboratory reactor fed toluene-amended groundwater and colonized by the indigenous aquifer populations. During the early stages of colonization, microcolonies were observed primarily in crevices and other regions sheltered from hydraulic shear forces. Eventually, these microcolonies grew over the entire surface of the GAC. This growth led to the development of discrete discontinuous multilayer biofilm structures. Cell-free channel-like structures of variable sizes were observed to interconnect the surface film with the deep inner layers. These interconnections appeared to increase the biological surface area per unit volume ratio, which may facilitate transport of substrates into and waste products out of deep regions of the biofilm at rates greater than possible by diffusion alone. These architectural features were also observed in biofilms from four field-scale GAC reactors that were in commercial operation treating petroleum-contaminated groundwaters. These shared features suggest that formation of cell-free channel structures and their maintenance may be a general microbial strategy to deal with the problem of limiting diffusive transport in thick biofilms typical of fluidized-bed reactors.     

Early stages in biofilm development in methanogenic fluidized-bed reactors

Summary Biofilm development in methanogenic fluidized-bed reactors with sand as the carrier was studied on a laboratory scale. The microorganisms present in consecutive layers of the biofilm of mature sludge granules were preliminarily characterized on the basis of their morphology, element composition and adhesion capacity and were compared to bacteria which take part in the initial colonization of sand. The early phase of biofilm development was monitored with reactors receiving waste-waters containing different mixtures of volatile fatty acids and inoculated with fluidized-bed reactor effluent for different lengths of time. The results obtained indicate that facultative anaerobic bacteria abundantly present in the outermost biofilm layers of mature sludge granules are probably the main primary colonizers of the sand. Methanothrix spp. or other methanogens were rarely observed among the primary colonizers. The course of biofilm formation was comparable under the various start-up conditions employed including variations in waste-water composition, inoculation and anaerobicity. However, omission of waste-water and thus of substrate resulted in rapid wash-out of the attached biomass. Offprint requests to: W. Heinen     

Backwash intensity and frequency impact the microbial community structure and function in a fixed-bed biofilm reactor

Linkages among bioreactor operation and performance and microbial community structure were investigated for a fixed-bed biofilm system designed to remove perchlorate from drinking water. Perchlorate removal was monitored to evaluate reactor performance during and after the frequency and intensity of the backwash procedure were changed, while the microbial community structure was studied using clone libraries and quantitative PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene. When backwash frequency was increased from once per month to once per day, perchlorate removal initially deteriorated and then recovered, and the relative abundance of perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) initially increased and then decreased. This apparent discrepancy suggested that bacterial populations other than PRB played an indirect role in perchlorate removal, likely by consuming dissolved oxygen, a competing electron acceptor. When backwash intensity was increased, the reactor gradually lost its ability to remove perchlorate, and concurrently the relative abundance of PRB decreased. The results indicated that changes in reactor operation had a profound impact on reactor performance through altering the microbial community structure. Backwashing is an important yet poorly characterized procedure when operating fixed-bed biofilm reactors. Compared to backwash intensity, changes in backwash frequency exerted less disturbance on the microbial community in the current study. If this finding can be confirmed in future work, backwash frequency may serve as the primary parameter when optimizing backwash procedures.     

Scanning electron microscopy of biofilm development in anaerobic fixed-bed reactors: Influence of the inoculum

Summary Scanning electron microscopy was applied to evaluate the influence of inoculum on efficiency of initial biofilm formation and reactor performance. Five anaerobic fixed-bed reactors were inoculated with anaerobic sludges from different sources and operated in parallel under identical conditions with defined wastewater and acetate, propionate and butyrate as constituents In all sludges Methanothrix sp. was the predominant acetotroph. The reactors inoculated with anaerobic sludge adapted to the wastewater achieved the highest space loading with 21.0 g COD/l·d after 58 days. The inoculation with granular sludge from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor resulted in significantly less reactor efficiency. Time course of biofilm formation and biofilm thickness (ranging from 20–200 m) depended on the type of inoculum.     

Performance of fluidized-bed reactors utilizing magnetic fields

The performance of fluidized-bed reactors utilizing a magnetic field was determined by the use of magnetite-containing beads of immobilized unease. The reactors showed similar or higher conversions in comparison with fixed-bed reactors, although some aggregation of the beads in the magnetic field was observed. No effusion of the beads occurred up to a flow rate of 24 cm/min.     

Analysis of a continuous, aerobic, fixed-film bioreactor. I. Steady-state behavior

The analysis of a continuous, aerobic, fixed-film bioreactor is performed by simulating the behavior of penicillin production in a three-phase fluidized bed. Rigorous mathematical models are developed for a fluidized-bed fermentor in which bioparticles are fluidized by the liquid medium and air. The steady-state performance of the fluidized-bed reactor is appraised in terms of penicillin productivity and outlet concentration by considering the two extremes in contacting patterns, complete back-mix and plug flow, in the absence of a growing biofilm. The results show that the complete back-mix contacting pattern is preferred over that of plug flow due to the nature of the penicillin kinetic relationships. It is also shown that for the dual-nutrient (glucose and oxygen) penicillin reaction system the optimum biofilm thickness does not equal the penetration depth of a limiting nutrient, but depends upon the total reactor configuration.     

Biofilm reactors: an experimental and modeling study of wastewater denitrification in fluidized-bed reactors of activated carbon particles

A fluidized-bed biofilm reactor using activated carbon particles of 1.69 mm diameter as the support for biomass growth and molasses as the carbon source is used for wastewater denitrification.The start-up of the reactor was successfully achieved in 1 week by using a liquor from garden soil leaching as the inoculum and a superficial velocity u(0) = 5u(mf). Typical biofilm thickness is 800 mum; therefore covered activated carbon particles have 3.3 mm in diameter.Reactor hydrodynamics was studied by tracer (KCl solution) experiments. The analysis based on residence time distribution theory involved a model with axial dispersion flow and tracer diffusion with linear adsorption inside the biofilm. Peclet numbers higher than 100 were found, allowing the plug flow assumption for the reactor model.Experimental profiles of nitrate and nitrite species were explained by a kinetic model of two consecutive zero-order reactions coupled with substrate diffusion inside the biofilm. Under the operating conditons used thick biofilms were obtained working in a diffusion-controlled regime.Comparison is made with results obtained in the same reactor with sand particles as the support for biomass growth. Activated carbon as the support has the following advantages: good adsorptive characteristics, homogeneous biofilm thickness along the reactor, and easy restart-up of the reactor. (c) 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Estimating biofilm reaction kinetics using hybrid mechanistic-neural network rate function model

This work describes an alternative method for estimation of reaction rate of a biofilm process without using a model equation. A first principles model of the biofilm process is integrated with artificial neural networks to derive a hybrid mechanistic-neural network rate function model (HMNNRFM), and this combined model structure is used to estimate the complex kinetics of the biofilm process as a consequence of the validation of its steady state solution. The performance of the proposed methodology is studied with the aid of the experimental data of an anaerobic fixed bed biofilm reactor. The statistical significance of the method is also analyzed by means of the coefficient of determination (R²) and model efficiency (ME). The results demonstrate the effectiveness of HMNNRFM for estimating the complex kinetics of the biofilm process involved in the treatment of industry wastewater.     

Microbial attachment and growth in fixed-film reactors: process startup considerations

Optimal steady-state performance of any biofilm reactor requires a fully developed and mature biofilm. During fixed-film reactor startup phase, biofilm is in process of development and accordingly, process performance is difficult to quantify. Environmental, cellular and surface factors greatly influence the process of biofilm formation during reactor startup. Improved knowledge of nutritional, toxicological and environmental requirements of wastewater degrading microorganisms has helped define optimal microbial growth conditions. In case of anaerobic fixed film reactors the startup is hindered by low microbial growth rates, strict environmental requirements and limited ability of methanogens to adhere and form fixed biofilms. These obstacles could be overcome by proper support media selection and formulation of appropriate inoculation procedures and startup strategies.     

Startup of anaerobic downflow stationary fixed film (DSFF) reactors

One of the serious problems limiting the application of full-scale anaerobic fixed film processes is reactor startup. To better understand startup, studies with downflow stationary fixed film (DSFF) reactors were conducted to characterize the effects of influent concentration, support material, and surface-to-volume ratio on biofilm development and overall reactor performance. Materials with roughened surfaces gave the best startup performance and as expected increased surface area in the reactors led to more rapid increases in loading rates and higher ultimate loadings. Soluble influent COD concentrations between 5 x 10(3) and 2 x 10(4) mg/L influenced the rate of biofilm development. Lower COD concentrations resulted in faster development of the biofilm, even though ultimate loadings were not necessarily achieved as rapidly as in reactors fed higher strength wastes. No decrease in specific activity of the biofilms in each reactor was observed as the thickness of the biofilms increased to their maximum value at the ultimate loadings. The operation of reactors fed lower strength wastes was more stable than reactors receiving higher strength feeds at comparable loadings. Biofilm yield and activity, COD removals, suspended growth and activity, and other system parameters are discussed.     

Evaluation of a model for the effects of substrate interactions on the kinetics of reductive dehalogenation

The effects of primary electron-donor and electron-acceptor substrates on the kinetics of TCA biodegradation in sulfate-reducing and methanogenic biofilm reactors are presented. Of the common anaerobic electron-donor substrates that were tested, only formate stimulated the TCA biodegradation rate in both reactors. In the sulfate-reducing reactor, glucose also stimulated the reaction rate. The effects of formate and sulfate on TCA biodegradation kinetics were analyzed using a model for primary substrate effects on reductive dehalogenation. Although some differences between the model and the data are evident, the observed responses of the TCA degradation rate to formate and sulfate were consistent with the model. Formate stimulated the TCA degradation rate in both reactors over the entire range of TCA concentrations that were studied (from 50 g TCA/L to 100 mg TCA/L). The largest effects occurred at high TCA concentrations, where the dehalogenation kinetics were zero order. Sulfate inhibited the first-order TCA degradation rate in the sulfate-reducing reactor, but not in the methanogenic reactor. Molybdate, which is a selective inhibitor of sulfate reduction, stimulated the TCA removal rate in the sulfate-reducing reactor, but had no effect in the methanogenic reactor.     

Stratified mixed-culture biofilm model for anaerobic digestion

Development of a novel two-layer anaerobic biofilm model is based on substrate utilization kinetics and mass transport. The model is applied to steady-state conditions for a fixed-film anaerobic reactor. The microbial film is considered to consist of two distinct biofilm layers, one adjacent to the second, with an acidogenic bacteria biofilm forming the outer layer and a methanogenic film the inner one. The model assumes that sugars are only metabolized by the first layer and converted into volatile fatty acids (VFA), while fatty acids are taken up only by the inner layer. The model is able to predict both substrate flux net uptake and methane production for steady-state conditions. The results of modeling agree with methane production experimental data published elsewhere. Further, the model shows why layered fixed-film reactors can withstand high and inhibitory concentrations of volatile fatty acids as well as severe overloading without failure.     

A repeatable laboratory method for testing the efficacy of biocides against toilet bowl biofilms

AIMS: The purpose of this study was to develop a laboratory biofilm growth reactor system that simulated the toilet bowl environment and which could be used for biocide efficacy testing. METHODS AND RESULTS: A microbial biofilm reactor system incorporating intermittent flow and nutrient provision was designed. The reactor system was open to the air and was inoculated with organisms collected from toilet bowl biofilms. Once per hour, reactors were supplied with a nutrient solution for a period of 5 min, then flushed and refilled with tap water or tap water amended with chlorine. Quantitative measures of the rate and extent of biofilm accumulation were defined. Biofilm accumulated in untreated reactors to cell densities of 108 cfu cm-2 after approximately 1 week. Biofilm accumulation was also observed in reactors in the continuous presence of several milligrams per litre of free chlorine. Repeatability standard deviations for the selected efficacy measures were low, indicating high repeatability between experiments. Log reduction values of viable cell numbers were within ranges observed with standard suspension and hard surface disinfection tests. Biofilm accumulated in laboratory reactors approximately seven times faster than it did in actual toilet bowls. The same ranking was achieved in tests between laboratory biofilms and field-grown biofilms with three of the four measures, using three different concentrations of chlorine. CONCLUSION: This reactor system has been shown to simulate, in a repeatable way, the accumulation of bacterial biofilm that occurs in toilet bowls. The results demonstrate that this system can provide repeatable assays of the efficacy of chlorine against those biofilms. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The laboratory biofilm reactor system described herein can be used to evaluate potential antimicrobial and antifouling treatments for control of biofilm formation in toilet bowls.     

Advanced start-up of anaerobic attached film expanded bed reactor by pre-aeration of biofilm carrier

The start-up and performance of the anaerobic attached film expanded bed (AAFEB) reactor with pre-aeration of carrier were investigated. The carriers of the reactors had been aerated for 10 days before they were put into the AAFEB reactors. The results indicated that the reactors advance the start-up by 15 days, and maintain higher efficiency when they were subjected to organic and hydraulic loading shock, but during steady-state operation, the reactors did not show better performance than the control reactors without pre-aeration of carrier. The thicker biofilm and higher biomass concentration of the reactors with pre-aeration were observed during the start-up period, but the difference between two types of reactors tapered with the time course, and at the steady-state operation, the difference between two types of reactors on these two parameters was not obvious. Maximum specific methane or acids production rates, dehydrogenase activity and coenzyme F(420) content were continuously higher than those of the control reactors. After running 30 days, filamentous bacteria dominated in the reactors with pre-aeration, whereas the cocci were predominant species in the control reactors. It was suggested that the action of the biofilm is strongly dependent on the biofilm thickness or the biomass concentration in normal circumstances, but under adverse circumstances, such as organic or hydraulic loading shock, the characteristics and activity of the anaerobic granular sludge play key roles on the reactor performance. These results clearly indicated that pre-aeration of carrier favor to enhance the start-up and performance of AAFEB reactor.