La. Kaplan et Jd. Newbold, MEASUREMENT OF STREAMWATER BIODEGRADABLE DISSOLVED ORGANIC-CARBON WITH A PLUG-FLOW BIOREACTOR, Water research, 29(12), 1995, pp. 2696-2706
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.