Development of kinetics of wastewater treatment in the aerobic biofilm reactor

Biofilm process is widely used for a variety of wastewater especially containing slowly biodegradable substances. It is resistant to toxic environment and capable of excellent retention of biomass under continuous operation. Development of kinetics is very much pertinent for rational design of a biofilm process for the treatment of wastewater with or without inhibitory substances. A simple approach for development of such kinetics for an aerobic biofilm reactor has been presented using a novel biofilm model. The novel biofilm model is formulated from the correlations between substrate concentrations in the influent/effluent and at biofilm liquid interface along with substrate flux and biofilm thickness complying Monod's growth kinetics. The methodology for determining the kinetic coefficients for substrate removal and biomass growth has been demonstrated stepwise along with graphical representation. Kinetic coefficients like K, k, Y, b(t), b(s) and b(d) are determined either from the intercepts of X and Y-axis or from the slope of the graphical plots.