Chlorophenol sorption to anaerobic granules under dynamic conditions

This study examined the nonideal sorption phenomena and the effect of mixing conditions on sorption of five chlorophenols (CPs) onto anaerobic granules (AG) under dynamic conditions in continuous bioreactors. Under dynamic bioreactor conditions, anaerobic sorption of CPs which follow sorption linearity and sorption–desorption singularity, can be described by a dynamic model incorporating linear sorption. Nonequilibrium sorption caused by diffusion limitations in anaerobic reactors was found to be negligible, which is a result of the strong hydrodynamic dispersion that prevails in anaerobic reactors and the high porosity of AG. However, minor nonideal sorption phenomena were observed for 3,4-dichlorophenol and pentachlorophenol, both of which showed sorption–desorption isotherm hysteresis.