CIVE / CBE 540

Microbial Kinetics & Mass

Balances
Sybil Sharvelle
Review

[Accumulation] = [Input] [Reaction] [Output]

dC1 Co C1
kC1
dt
Review

CA = ?
= 10 hours
CA = ?
Thinking Question

What measurements do we need to do a mass

balance to determine biokinetics in a reactor with
input and output?
Chemostat

Used to determine biokinetic parameters

Influent Effluent
So,Q Q,S,Xa,Xi
Volume = V
Substrate = S
Active Biomass = Xa
Inert Biomass = Xi
Chemostat Mass Balance

Active Biomass
Substrate
board notes
Solids Retention Time

Solids Retention Time (SRT)

OR
Mean Cell Residence Time (MCRT, x)

active biomass in system

x 1
production rate of active biomass
SRT for Chemostat

Produced Biomass must exit in effluent

Influent Effluent
So,Q Q,S,Xa,Xi
Volume = V
Substrate = S
Active Biomass = Xa
Inert Biomass = Xi

VX a
x
QX a
Chemostat
Concentration

Xa

x
Chemostat
Yq b
min
x lim
1

Washout no
accumulation of
S0 biomass
S=S0
Concentration

Xa

K S0
min
0
S (Yq b) bK
S x

xmin x
Design Cell Residence Time

Safety Factor
Often SF = x/xmin
For a complete mixed system = x
Multiply by SF
Chemostat
For all x > xmin, S declines monotonically with increasing x

1 b x
SK
Yq x (1 b x )
Concentration

Xa

xmin x
Chemostat
At Smin, substrate concentration capable of supporting steady state
biomass, x approaches infinity
Concentration

Xa

b
S S min K
Yq b
x
Chemostat - Summary
When x is too low
When x is too high

S0
Concentration

Xa

x
Nonbiodegradable Solids

Inert Biomass
Nonbiodegradable VSS
Mass balance on inert biomass
Xi = Concentration of inert biomass in chemostat
Board notes
Chemostat
Operation at large x results in greater accumulation of inert biomass

S0
Concentration

Xa
X i ,max X i0 Y (S 0 Smin )(1 f d )
Xi
S b
S min K
Xi0 Yq b

xmin x
Total VSS

Xv = sum of Xi and Xa

X v X i0 X a (1 f d )b X a
X v X i0 X a (1 (1 f d )b x )
Substitute for X a ,
( S 0
S)
Xv Xi Y
0
(1 (1 f d )b x )
1 b x
Chemostat

S0 Xv
Concentration

Xa

Xi
S
Xi0

xmin x
Thinking Question

What components do we need to do a mass

balance on to determine biokinetics in a reactor
with input and output?
Chemostat
1
xmin
Yq b

S0 Xv

Y(S0-Smin)
Concentration

Xa

Xi
S b
S min K
Xi0 Yq b

xmin x