Modelling of biological phenol removal in draw-fill reactors using suspended and attached growth olive pulp bacteria

The kinetics of phenol biodegradation in draw-fill suspended and attached growth reactors by olive pulp bacteria were investigated. The Haldane equation was adopted in order to describe phenol biodegradation in the draw-fill suspended-growth flask reactors. Kinetic constants of the Haldane equation obtained from batch culture experiments with phenol concentration ranging from 13 to 280 mg l−1, were μmax=0.054 h−1, KS=19.23 mg l−1, and Ki=36.95 mg l−1. However, in the draw-fill experiments at the packed-bed reactor, phenol inhibitory effects were minimized increasing the inhibitory constant value Ki′ at 1571 mg l−1. The model predicted phenol biodegradation in the packed-bed reactor adequately, for all initial phenol concentrations tested, apart from the highest phenol concentration of 1990 mg l−1, where clogging problems and insufficient aeration in the filter prevailed.