A biological treatment of industrial wastewaters: Contois kinetics

Rubayyi Turki Alqahtani; Mark I. Nelson; Annette L. Worthy

doi:10.21914/anziamj.v56i0.8914

Authors

Rubayyi Turki Alqahtani Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh.
Mark I. Nelson School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522
Annette L. Worthy School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21914/anziamj.v56i0.8914

Keywords:

bioreactor, chemostat, Contois growth kinetics, stirred tank, water treatment

Abstract

This paper analyses the steady-state operation of a generalized bioreactor model that encompasses a continuous-flow bioreactor and an idealized continuous-flow membrane bioreactor as limiting cases. A biodegradation of organic materials is modelled using Contois growth kinetics. The bioreactor performance is analysed by finding the steady-state solutions of the model and determining their stability as a function of the dimensionless residence time. We show that an effective recycle parameter improves the performance of the bioreactor at moderate values of the dimensionless residence time. However, at sufficiently large values of the dimensionless residence time, the performance of the bioreactor is independent of the recycle ratio. doi:10.1017/S144618111500005X

Author Biographies

Rubayyi Turki Alqahtani, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh.

Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science.

Mark I. Nelson, School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522

School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics.

Annette L. Worthy, School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522.