A MICROBIAL REGENERATION PROCESS FOR ANTIGRANULOCYTES ACTIVATED CARBON .1. PROCESS MODELING

Biological regeneration is one of several processes that have been used to recover the adsorptive capacity of spent activated carbon. Carbon is regenerated biologically by contacting the spent carbon with a microbial population that is capable of metabolizing the adsorbed species subsequent to their desorption from the carbon into the fermentation broth. This study examined the dynamics of the in situ regeneration of both a single-solute and a bisolute granular fixed-bed activated carbon adsorber. A detailed model of both the adsorption and the bioregeneration parts of the overall sequential process was developed which included a description of the microbial degradation kinetics, adsorption/desorption equilibrium, intraparticle mass transfer and solute diffusion through the external liquid film. Plug flow of liquid through the activated carbon bed was assumed. The method of orthogonal collocation was successfully applied in obtaining a numerical solution of the adsorption/desorption-bioregeneration model. © 1990.