Abstract
In the present study volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient kLa has been determined for biodegradation of phenol in a bubble column bioreactor. Experimental studies have been carried out at different i) feed concentrations of phenol, ii) air flow rates and iii) feed flow rates. Dynamic method has been used to determine the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. The mass transfer coefficient for oxygen obtained is in the range of 0.00513 – 0.01793 s-1. kLa was found to increase with increase in air flow rates and decrease with increase in feed concentration of phenol. The values obtained in this work are compared with the values available in literature. A mathematical correlation is derived for kLa in terms of dimensionless numbers.
Highlights
Oxygen transfer mass transfer from air to the broth is very important in the design and operation of bioreactors degrading phenol
The values of the kLa have been found to be in the range of 0.00513 – 0.01793 s-1. These values give an idea of resistance to oxygen mass transfer from gas phase to liquid phase in the biodegradation of phenol
There have been reports in literature relating to oxygen mass transfer coefficient on phenol biodegradation
Summary
Oxygen transfer mass transfer from air to the broth is very important in the design and operation of bioreactors degrading phenol. Bubble column bioreactors have a number of advantages in terms of in design and operation as compared to other reactors. They have excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics. The majority of oxygen transfer data for airlift / bubble column bioreactors have been obtained with air/water-based systems. In bubble column bioreactor oxygen is required for the biodegradation of phenol. It is supplied in the form of air. It can be seen that different types of vessels / columns such as stirred tank [13], slurry bioreactor [16], airlift [22,23,26], bubble columns [14,15,17,18,20,21,27,28] have
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