Theoretical and experimental investigation of biodegradation of hydrocarbon polluted water in a three phase fluidized-bed bioreactor with PVC biofilm support

The aerobic treatment of hydrocarbon polluted groundwater was performed experimentally in a three phase fluidized-bed bioreactor (FBBR) using mixed culture of living cells immobilized on PVC particles. The characteristic of the living cells immobilized in FBBR were identified and the kinetic parameters of the biochemical reaction were evaluated. A steady-state biofilm model was developed based on porous pellet model which considers the diffusion and reaction of hydrocarbons within biofilm, axial dispersion coefficient in bioreactor and external mass transfer resistance between biofilm and completely mixed liquid phase. The developed model assumes a first-order biochemical reaction within biofilm. Experimental results were used to test the validity of the proposed model. A reasonable agreement between the experimental and theoretical results was found.