Biodegradation of BTEX compounds in a biofilm reactor—Modeling and simulation

In this study the biodegradation process of toxic compounds such as benzene, toluene ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX), present in petrochemical effluents is described by a phenomenological model expressed through a single differential equation which allows the description of the concentration profile through a fixed bed biofilm reactor. The mechanisms which control the mass transfer, such as the effects of dispersion, convection and reaction in the liquid phase, and of diffusion and reaction within the biofilm, are considered in this model. The reaction in the biofilm is described by Michaelis–Menten kinetics. The Finite Volume Method (FVM) is used in the discretization of the differential equation of the phenomenological model, an algorithm being developed for the numerical simulation of the biodegradation process of BTEX compounds under different operational conditions. The computational algorithm developed was validated by comparing the results of the numerical simulation of the biodegradation process of BTX compounds with experimental data provided in the literature. The results obtained through the simulations showed that the parameters evaluated in this study influenced the biodegradation of BTEX compounds, and that the mathematical model and the numerical methodology adopted can be used as an efficient tool for predicting the dynamic and stationary behavior of the biodegradation process.