Experimental behaviour and design model of a continuous tank reactor for removing 4-chlorophenol with soybean peroxidase

A continuous tank reactor was used to remove 4-chlorophenol from aqueous solutions, using soybean peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide. No buffer solutions and no protective additives were used. The influence of operational variables, both enzyme and substrate concentrations and spatial time, on the removal efficiency of 4-chlorophenol was studied. Assuming a Ping-Pong bisubstrate kinetic for the enzymatic reaction and an ideal mixing flow for the continuous tank reactor, a simplified steady-state model was developed. By using the intrinsic kinetic parameters obtained in a previous paper the reactor model was solved and the theoretical values of the steady-state conversion were calculated. The good approximation between the experimental and calculated values of the steady-state conversion confirmed that the proposed kinetic equation and the design model, as well as the intrinsic kinetic parameters previously determined, can be used to predict the steady-state behaviour of the reactor.