Biomass accumulation and clogging in trickle‐bed bioreactors

Abstract

AbstractExcessive biomass formation in two‐phase flow trickle‐bed bioreactors induces clogging and leads to the progressive obstruction of the bed that is accompanied with a buildup in pressure drop and flow channeling. Currently, physical models linking the two‐phase flow to the space‐time evolution of biological clogging are virtually nonexistent. An attempt has been made with this contribution to fill in this gap by developing a unidirectional dynamic multiphase flow model based on the volume‐average mass, momentum, and species balance equations. Phenol biodegradation by Pseudomonas putida as the predominant species immobilized on activated carbon was chosen as a case study to illustrate the consequences of formation of excessive amounts of biomass. Furthermore, in developing the transient model, the following basic processes were assumed to occur and have been accounted for in the mathematical model: oxygen transport from gas into liquid bulks, phenol, and oxygen transport from the liquid phase to the biofilm surface, simultaneous diffusion and reaction of phenol and oxygen within biofilm, as well as their simultaneous diffusion and adsorption within the porous supporting particles. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50: 2541–2551, 2004