MACROSCALE MODELING OF SUBSTRATE REMOVAL KINETICS IN MULTICOMPONENT FIXED-FILM SYSTEMS

Design of aerobic fixed-film systems is generally performed using a tr aditional chemical reactor theory which accounts for changes in both s ubstrate and biomass concentration. As most of these systems do not be have as ideal reactors, the theoretical evidence clearly shows that th e variation and impact of biomass cannot be accounted for by a single reactor concept. Refinements reported in the literature concerning the fate of soluble substrate are modified in this study to also include the variation of biomass viability for different substrate concentrati on along the aerobic reactor. Evaluations show that a multi-stage mode lling biofilm performance is likely to be a much more reliable predict ive tool for removal efficiencies.