A REVIEW OF SOME PARAMETERS INVOLVED IN FLUIDIZED-BED BIOREACTORS

Three-phase fluidized bed bioreactors have advantages over conventiona l chemical reaction systems. There is a lack of agreement over most ma jor operational conditions, and a wide range of design variables are o pen to question. A large body of recent work in the field has been rev iewed, with a degree of historical comparison and discussion. It has b een found that aspects of fluidized bed biofilm reactors of vital impo rtance include: choice of solid media, gas and liquid loadings, bacter ial type and reactor mechanical design. A large proportion of the work in the field of three-phase fluidization is non-biologically specific , or not tested on a bacterially inoculated system. The majority of th ree-phase fluidized bed bioreactor work is in the field of water treat ment. Although this work has highlighted the potential for use of bio- fluidized beds for this application, there are still specific problems hindering the large scale industrial acceptance of three-phase fluidi zed bed bioreactors.