MEASUREMENT OF STREAMWATER BIODEGRADABLE DISSOLVED ORGANIC-CARBON WITH A PLUG-FLOW BIOREACTOR

Plug-flow biofilm reactors were colonized by microorganisms indigenous to streamwater and used to measure concentrations of biodegradable di ssolved organic carbon (DOC) in streamwater. We performed experiments to determine the influence of physical, chemical, and biological facto rs on the operation of the bioreactors. Colonization required several months and the biological removal of DOC within the reactors was influ enced by hydraulic residence time, dissolved organic carbon concentrat ion, and water temperature. The large microbial biomass within a biore actor buffered bioreactor performance from changes in chemical and phy sical parameters.