Mechanism of Semifluidized Bed Bioreactor for Biological Phenol Degradation

摘要

The kinetics of biological phenol degradation and the performance of the bacteria in a packed bed and semifluidized bed reactor were investigated in this research project. Batch studies at three temperatures, 24C, 35C, and 45C, were undertaken to determine the optimum operating temperature. Sewage bacteria acclimated to high phenol concentrations at each temperature were used in these studies. The bacteria were seeded onto various types of packing material for use in the semifluidized and packed bed studies. In the semifluidized bed, the flow of gas and liquid was countercurrent. From the semifluidized bed studies, a decrease in the liquid flowrate from 1500 ml/min to 100 ml/min increased the phenol degradation by approximately 10 percent. Investigation was also extended to cover the hydrodynamic behavior of the semifluidized bed. Separate experiments were conducted to study the hydrodynamic behavior of countercurrent flow of gas and liquid in a packed bed. A computational procedure was developed which allows a reasonably accurate prediction of the pressure drop in the semifluidized bed.