M. Deront et al., VOLUMETRIC OXYGEN MASS-TRANSFER COEFFICIENT IN AN UPFLOW COCURRENT PACKED-BED BIOREACTOR, Chemical Engineering Science, 53(7), 1998, pp. 1321-1330
A new approach for volumetric oxygen mass transfer determination in an
upflow cocurrent bioreactor packed with expanded clay balls is propos
ed in this paper. The chemical method of CuCl oxidation was adapted fo
r k(L)a determination in the Biological Filtration Oxygenated Reactor
(BIOFOR(R)). The variations of water and air superficial velocities sh
owed that the water superficial velocity significantly influences the
oxygen mass transfer. However, variation of air superficial velocity h
as little effect on the mass transfer coefficient. A mathematical proc
edure is developed for k(L)a calculation using experimental results. T
o predict the volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient, a modified
correlation, published by Reiss (1967, I&EC. Proc. Des. Dev. 6, 486-49
9), is proposed. Using water superficial velocities and pressure drop,
this correlation enables the determination of the k(L)a coefficient a
t any time, during the biological wastewater treatment cycle. (C) 1998
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