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Evaluation of a Novel Control Method on Biofilm Parameters in an Aerated Submerged Fixed‐bed Biofilm Reactor
Author(s) -
Trojanowicz Karol,
Wojcik Wlodzimierz,
Styka Wieslawa,
Baczynski Tomasz
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
clean – soil, air, water
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.444
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1863-0669
pISSN - 1863-0650
DOI - 10.1002/clen.201000111
Subject(s) - backwashing , biofilm , aeration , wastewater , bioreactor , effluent , hydraulic retention time , pulp and paper industry , environmental science , moving bed biofilm reactor , environmental engineering , oil refinery , refinery , biomass (ecology) , waste management , chemistry , ecology , biology , engineering , mechanical engineering , organic chemistry , bacteria , inlet , genetics
Abstract One of the critical technological parameter in operation of aerated submerged fixed‐bed biofilm reactor (ASFBBR) is the control over process of biofilm detachment. Both, an excessive growth of biomass with its accumulation in the bioreactor and an exceeded biofilm detachment rate, cause serious operational and technological problems. The studies presented in this paper demonstrate that in an ASFBBR reactor with a PVC bed carrier media, an effective way to maintain a proper shear stress acting on the biofilm and causing its detachment could be an internal recirculation of wastewater instead of backwashing with wastewater or air flushing. In case of polishing of oil‐refinery wastewater with average COD loading rate equal to 9 g COD/(m 2 day), the minimum value of the hydraulic loading rate in such reactor is 1.9 m 3 /(m 2 h), at which there was no excessive growth of biofilms. Despite a significant decrease of the biofilms thickness and amount of biomass in the reactor, there was no significant decline in the efficiency of pollutant removal from oil‐refinery wastewater, which made it possible to obtain the quality of effluent at the outlet of the bioreactor significantly below the water permits and standards.