Jrv. Flora et al., MODELING ALGAL BIOFILMS - ROLE OF CARBON, LIGHT, CELL-SURFACE CHARGE,AND IONIC SPECIES, Water environment research, 67(1), 1995, pp. 87-94
Models of carbon-limited algal biofilms have shown that the pH can inc
rease significantly within the biofilm, and consequently, although the
total inorganic carbon is not entirely depleted within the film, the
amount of CO2 available for substrate use is reduced. The presence of
a buffer offsets this pH limitation and increases the flux of inorgani
c carbon into the film. A rigorous model is developed to investigate t
he role of a phosphate buffer, multiple background ions, and cell surf
ace charge density on the flux of inorganic carbon into algal biofilms
. The effects of the presence of a concentration boundary layer (CBL),
light limitations, and activity corrections are included in the analy
sis. Results of the model establish that the phosphate buffer, the pre
sence of a CBL, and light limitations have a significant impact on the
predicted flux of inorganic carbon into algal biofilms, whereas the e
ffects of background ions, activity corrections, and algal surface cha
rges can be neglected.