THEORETICAL-ANALYSIS OF A PACKED-BED BIOLOGICAL REACTOR FOR VARIOUS REACTION-KINETICS

The performance characteristics of a packed-bed biological reactor have been analysed taking into consideration the diffusional resistance of the biofilm. The model equations are solved by the method of orthogonal collocation from the transient to the steady state condition for various reaction kinetics of practical significance, namely Michaelis-Menten kinetics with and without substrate inhibition. It is found that the substrate conversion increases with increase in the Peclet number, the mass transfer coefficient, the surface area of biofilm and the film thickness.