Hydrodynamic study of a novel membrane aerated biofilm reactor (MABR): Tracer experiments and CFD simulation

Plascencia-Jatomea, R.; Almazán-Ruiz, Francisco J.; Gómez, Jorge; Rivero, Eligio P.; Monroy, O.; González, Ignacio

doi:10.1016/j.ces.2015.08.004

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Thus, computational fluid dynamics can be an important tool for MBfR studies, either to determine the flow regime around membranes, or to couple with a model of biofilm growth and deformation. [11,12] This can be especially important when biofilm-covered membranes contact each other, as they may bundle and cause dead zones without flow. As mentioned previously, the bundle may behave like a single biofilm with gaseous substrates sources in the interior.…”

Section: Biofilm Morphology and Mbfr Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

The membrane-biofilm reactor (MBfR) as a counter-diffusional biofilm process

Nerenberg

2016

Current Opinion in Biotechnology

204

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The membrane-biofilm reactor (MBfR), sometimes known as the membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), is an emerging treatment technology based on gas-transferring membranes. The membranes typically supply a gaseous electron donor or acceptor substrate, such as oxygen, hydrogen, and methane. The substrate diffuses through the membrane to a biofilm naturally forming on the membrane outer surface. The complementary substrate (electron donor or acceptor) typically diffuses from the bulk liquid into the biofilm, making MBfR counter diffusional. This paper reviews the unique behavior of counter-diffusional biofilms and highlights recent research on the MBfR. Key advances include insights into the microbial community structure of MBfRs, applying the MBfR to novel contaminants, providing a better understanding of biofilm morphology and its effects on MBfR behavior, and the development of methane-based MBfR applications. These advances are likely to further the development of the MBfR for environmental applications, such as energy-efficient wastewater treatment and advanced water treatment.

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Section: Biofilm Morphology and Mbfr Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

The membrane-biofilm reactor (MBfR) as a counter-diffusional biofilm process

Nerenberg

2016

Current Opinion in Biotechnology

204

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“…Concretely, the upper baffle, BLAS® (Tejero et al 1991) was originally conceived as a support media for biofilm, but in AnoxAn is used as a head loss generator reducing the velocity of the fluid flow. Specific elements with these characteristics and level of interference in the flow pattern increase the hydrodynamic complexity of the reactor, and could generate preferential flows and dead zones, reducing the overall performance of the system (Al-Sammarraee et al 2009, Liu et al 2018, Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2015, Yan et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, the complexity of experimental tests makes them impracticable in large-scale reactors (Fernandez, 2012). In addition, experimental RTD models and compartment-based hydraulic models do not contain any information on spatial flow and concentration camp resolution (Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding hydrodynamic analysis, combination of RTD and CFD for reactor analysis and optimization has been previously applied for different reactors (Brannock et al 2010a-b, Climent et al 2018, Le Moullec et al 2008, Pereira et al 2011, Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2015, Terashima et al 2009). The present work follows the validation performed by many of them regarding the hydrodynamic field, which is only based on RTD tests (Brannock et al 2010a-b, Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2015, Terashima et al 2009.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, CFD modelling allows deeper hydrodynamic analysis including identification and location of dead zones, tracking of velocity profiles and flow patterns, mixing performance, and determination of the distribution of tracer concentration within the reactor (Climent et al 2018, Dapelo et al 2018, Michalopoulos et al 2018, Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2015, Terashima et al 2009, Trab et al 2015, Wei et al 2019. In addition, this advanced knowledge will be essential for the operational optimization of reactors with complex hydrodynamic behaviour such as AnoxAn in terms of avoiding the presence of dead flow zones or preferred channelling in the design.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CFD simulation of a novel anaerobic-anoxic reactor for biological nutrient removal: Model construction, validation and hydrodynamic analysis based on OpenFOAM®

Blanco-Aguilera

Lara

Barajas

et al. 2020

Chemical Engineering Science

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AnoxAn is a novel multi-environment reactor for biological nutrient removal (BNR) from wastewater. Although its biological efficacy has been demonstrated on a pilot scale, hydrodynamics is observed to significantly affect the performance of AnoxAn. To study its complex hydraulic behaviour, a model based on Computational Fluid Dynamics 3D (CFD) is constructed using the OpenFOAM® open source toolbox and validated by experimental tests of Residence Time Distribution (RTD). Reactor elements represent a key factor in the modelling process. In this sense, the impeller of the anoxic zone is modelled as a flat disk, and the baffle after the anoxic zone as a porous media. According to CFD model simulations, stagnant, short-circuit zones and mixing quality are established and quantified. Finally, the influence on the hydrodynamics of reactor elements is also evaluated. The results of this detailed hydrodynamic analysis will form the basis for the design and optimization of scalable AnoxAn configurations.

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