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Determination of effective diffusivity of substrate in biological films and particles

  • Measurement and Control
  • Published:
Biotechnology Techniques

Summary

Particle supported biofilms of uniform thickness were generated in an aerobic fluidized-bed reactor with phenol as the carbon source. A method was developed for determining the effective diffusivities of oxygen and phenol using trypan blue, a vital stain as the tracer. The effective diffusivities of oxygen and phenol were found to be 2.72×10−6 cm2/s and 1.12×10−6 cm2/s respectively.

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Abbreviations

Ci :

initial solute concentration in bulk, g/cm3

Ct :

solute concentration in bulk at time t, g/cm3

C∞ :

bulk solute concentration at equilibrium, g/cm3

D:

molecular diffusivity, cm2/s

D′:

effective diffusivity, cm2/s

Do′ Dp′ Dtb :

molecular diffusivity of oxygen, phenol and trypan blue, cm2/s

D′o′, D′p′, D′tb :

effective diffusivity of oxygen, phenol and trypan blue, cm2/s

Ds :

molecular diffusivity of substrate, cm2/s

D′s :

effective diffusivity of substrate, cm2/s

K:

partition coefficient

Mt :

amount of solute in the particle at time t, g

M∞ :

amount of solute in the particle at equilibrium, g

r :

particle radius, cm

r bp :

radius of the particle with biofilm, cm

S:

substrate concentration, g/cm3

Sb :

substrate concentration in bulk, g/cm3

Si :

initial substrate concentration, g/cm3

V1 :

solute molar volume, cm3/g mol

ɛbf:

porosity of the biofilm

τ:

tortuosity factor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    S. M. Rao Bhamidimarri

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia

    P. F. Greenfield

Authors
  1. S. M. Rao Bhamidimarri
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  2. P. F. Greenfield
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Bhamidimarri, S.M.R., Greenfield, P.F. Determination of effective diffusivity of substrate in biological films and particles. Biotechnol Tech 2, 227–232 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01875533

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