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Influence of hydrodynamic conditions on naphthalene dissolution and subsequent biodegradation
Author(s) -
Mulder Hendrikus,
Breure Anton M.,
Van Andel Johan G.,
Grotenhuis J. Tim C.,
Rulkens Wim H.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0290(19980120)57:2<145::aid-bit3>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - naphthalene , mass transfer , biodegradation , dimensionless quantity , chemistry , dissolution , sherwood number , reynolds number , mass transfer coefficient , chemical engineering , chromatography , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , physics , turbulence , nusselt number , engineering
The influence of hydrodynamic conditions on the dissolution rate of crystalline naphthalene as a model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) was studied in stirred batch reactors with varying impeller speeds. Mass transfer from naphthalene melts of different surface areas to the aqueous phase was measured and results were modeled according to the film theory. Results were generalized using dimensionless numbers (Reynolds, Schmidt, and Sherwood). In combined mass transfer and biodegradation experiments, the effect of hydrodynamic conditions on the degradation rate of naphthalene by Pseudomonas 8909N was studied. Experimental results were mathematically described using mass‐transfer and microbiological models. The experiments allowed determination of mass‐transfer and microbiological parameters separately in a single run. The biomass formation rate under mass transfer limited conditions, which is related to the naphthalene biodegradation rate, was correlated to the dimensionless Reynolds number, indicating increased bioavailability at increased mixing in the reactor liquid. The methodology presented in which mass transfer processes are quantified under sterile conditions followed by a biodegradation experiment can also be adapted to more complex and realistic systems, such as particulate, suspended PAH solids or soils with intrapartically sorbed contaminants when the appropriate mass‐transfer equations are incorporated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 57: 145–154, 1998.