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Simplified models for packed‐bed biofilm reactors
Author(s) -
Skowlund Christopher T.,
Kirmse Dale W.
Publication year - 1989
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/bit.260330205
Subject(s) - biofilm , limiting , packed bed , diffusion , bioreactor , chemistry , substrate (aquarium) , materials science , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , chromatography , physics , bacteria , biology , engineering , organic chemistry , mechanical engineering , ecology , genetics
For a packed‐bed biofilm reactor two reactor models are proposed. One model is for the limiting case of a biofilm with a constant biofilm thickness in which diffusion within the biofilm is shown to be negligible. The second model assumes that the thickness of the biofilm is limited by the concentration of substrate within the biofilm. The analytical solutions for these reactor models are shown to agree very well with the numerical solutions to the exact differential equations.