Title: Hydrodynamic characterisation of an airlift reactor for domestic wastewater treatment

Authors: Martha Arias-Peñaranda; Rodolfo Reyna-Velarde; Rosa Olivia Cañizares-Villanueva

Addresses: GIRN, University of Pamplona, Km 1 Vía Bucaramanga, Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia ' Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centro de Investigaciones y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Mexico ' Department of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centro de Investigaciones y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Mexico

Abstract: This study evaluates the hydrodynamic and mass-transfer behaviour of a 20-L airlift photobioreactor, employed for secondary wastewater treatment of domestic effluent. Gas hold-up (ε), as well as the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k_La) was assessed as a function of superficial gas velocity (Ug) for both bi- and triphasic systems. In the experimental range of Ug investigated, the maximum k_La and ε obtained were in the order of 0.0074 s⁻¹ and 0.035 for water/air system and 0.0097 s⁻¹ and 0.026 for triphasic system respectively. The results indicate that this PBR is a good candidate for wastewater treatment, with lower power costs than other types of biological reactors.

Keywords: airlift reactors; hydrodynamics; gas hold-up; mass transfer; biological reactors; photobioreactors; domestic wastewater; wastewater treatment; domestic effluent.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2012.050792

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2012 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.171 - 182

Published online: 31 Dec 2014 *

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