Prediction of average biofilm density and performance of a spherical bioparticle under substrate inhibition

Abstract

In this article, a model was proposed to predict the average performance and biofilm density of a spherical bioparticle under substrate inhibition in a fluidized bed system. The average biofilm density and substrate consumption rates were predicted for a definite biofilm thickness and limiting substrate concentrations. A diffusion and reaction model was developed over the bioparticle with biofilm‐density dependent effective diffusion coefficients for maximum substrate consumption theory. This theory predicts the optimum density of a biofilm to yield a maximum substrate consumption rate within the biofilm, developed for the first time with this study and experimentally verified. A good correlation was observed between the model prediction and experimental results for biofilm density and substrate consumption rates. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 319–329, 1997.

Modeling of Biofilm Growth on Fine Spherical Particles with the Use of Cellular Automata: The Influence of Cell Death and Lysis on the Biofilm Structure

“…Microorganisms in attached-growth processes grow on solid substratum in theform of a biofilm, whereas, in mixed-growth processes, both forms are present in a system. Particle-based biofilm reactors, in which fine particles are used as a substratum for biofilm growth, have been widely employed in numerous processes, including the biodegradation of pollutants [1] and the production of antibiotics [2]. Reactors belonging to this group; for example, fluidized-bed bioreactors and air-lift suspension bioreactors can be operated at high volumetric flow rates, since the biomass is immobilized on a solid carrier of highly developed interphase surface, and retained inside the reactor [3].…”