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5 Estructura de Poros en Filtros Percoladores
5 Estructura de Poros en Filtros Percoladores
h i g h l i g h t s
Concrete-Block media with/without biolm in MSB.
Majority of liquid held by particles with biolm.
Biolm reduces dynamic fractions and delays liquid release.
Biolm lengthens liquid residence time and increases active liquid volume in lter.
Biolm improves liquid mixing in lter and reduces liquid lm thickness.
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 10 March 2013
Received in revised form 25 June 2013
Accepted 28 June 2013
Available online 5 July 2013
Keywords:
Hydrodynamic
Liquid holdup
Porous structure
Liquid lm, RTD
a b s t r a c t
The hydrodynamic behaviors of a Multi-Section Bioreactor (MSB) and a Trickle Fixed-bed Column (TFC)
packed with porous concrete block medium were investigated in terms of liquid holdup and RTD modeling in regimes with and without biolm. It was found liquid static holdup was always higher than
the dynamic holdup due to the porous structure of medium, rather than the conguration of bioreactor.
Dynamic holdup increased when the hydraulic load increased. The presence of biolm retarded the liquid
release through the bioreactor; however, it enhanced the mass diffusion between static and dynamic
fractions. The RTD measurements and modeling showed that the presence of biolm lengthened the
liquid residence time, and it promoted the mass diffusion between the liquid and biolm. Liquid lm
thickness estimation implied that the biolm reduced the liquid lm thickness resulting both from the
increase of surface area and reduction of dynamic holdup volume.
2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Trickle Filter (TF) technology is widely used in small wastewater treatment plants because it is robust and relatively uncomplicated with low specic energy consumption. In a TF, complex
mechanisms take place which are highly dependent on hydraulics.
To improve and operate such TF technology, it is indispensible to
understand the physical parameters which affect the hydraulics
in order to take accurately these effects into account through software modeling such as Hydromantis GPS-X. It is important for
example, to assess the contact time between the polluted stream
and the biolm responsible for pollutant biodegradation; this
164
Nomenclature
hLt
hLS
hLd
ucb
e
e0
dp
r2
qL
qparticle
dL
bd
bs
bt
s
h
hcb
Fad
TFC
MSB
Q
mDP
mLS
mfd
msd
VLt
VLS
VLd
Vsolid
Vp,L
Nparticles
SA
SAeff
S.H.L
m
fW
fLSE
PF
CSTR
LRT
2.2. Methods
165
Table 1
Geometrical characteristics of the TFC and the MSB.
Bioreactor
Diameter (m)
TFC
MSB
4
2.4
0.4
0.2
1.9
2
2
2.5
0.4
2.5
2.5
Table 2
Physical properties of Concrete Block medium and packing bed.
Particle porosity
(%)
Material density
(kg/m3)
Particle density
(kg/m3)
Particle equivalent
diameter (cm)
Particle
sphericity
e0
qpowder
586.4
dp
2.17 0.4
1337
SSA
350 70
qparticle
61
0.74 0.07
79.1/77.4a
For the MSB packing bed void fraction calculation, the interval void spaces between two adjacent sections were included.
bS
V LS
V LS
V LS
Fad
mLS
qL
V LS
q 1 e0
L
bS
mDP qparticle V packing
qparticle
bd
V Ld
V Ld
V solid V column 1 e
166
where VLd represents the liquid dynamic holdup volume and Vsolid
the pure solid volume.
2.2.3. Residence time distribution (RTD)
Residence time distribution experiments were carried out by
the tracer method reported in [14]. After stabilization of the ow
in the column, a salt tracer (30 ml 300 g/L aqueous solution of
sodium chloride) was injected using a syringe from the injection
spot. The conductivity of the liquid with tracer leaving the column
was measured via a ow-through probe (XE100, RADIOMETER
ANALYTICAL S.A.) connected to a conductometer (CDM210 Conductivity Meter, RADIOMETER ANALYTICAL) and the real-time conductivity was monitored by the data acquisition system in the
computer. After each experiment, rinsing was done to remove
any residual salt absorbed of the particles.
The dimensionless E (h) as the function of the dimensionless
time h derives from Eq. (4) and the dimensionless time h in Eq.
(5). The mean liquid residence time l derives from the following
equation:
Ct
C0
Eh
s
P
tCt
l P
Ct
V p;L
4pdp =2 Lf dL
dL
V Ld
V Ld
Table 3
Composition of feed wastewater for two cultivated organic loads.
Composition
Concentration values
Unit
Lower load
High load
TSS
VSS
CODt
TKN
TN
Ammonia
Nitrite & nitrate
318 95
170 64
298 71
46 5
46 5
30 3
0
1006 115
606 77
1016 164
161 14
161 14
100 11
0
g/m3
g/m3
gCOD/m3
gN/m3
gN/m3
gN/m3
gN/m3
Organic loads
0.76
2.55
kgCOD/m2d
167
120%
s of entire pilot Lf=144 mm
s of section 1 Lf=181 mm
s of section 2 Lf=143 mm
s of section 3 Lf=135 mm
s of section 4 Lf=124 mm
s of section 5 Lf=120 mm
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.6
0.8
static retention fractions in each section and in the entire pilot setup are plotted in Fig. 3 against the surface hydraulic loads.
Fig. 3 shows that the liquid static retention increased when the
hydraulic loads rose (0.29 to 0.73 m/h) in each section and in the
entire pilot set-up (from 34% to 83% in regime 1, from 24% to
79% in regime 2). The liquid static retention observed in each section of regime 1 increased when biolm thickness increased (from
120 lm to 181 lm) which could result from lower packing-bed
voids (from 62% to 43%, a calculation based on the study by Robin
and Alfred, [15]). Throughout the whole depth of the pilot set-up,
from the top down to the lower sections, the biolm thickness
gradually decreased. However, static retention did not decrease
in exact correspondence with the decline in thickness, i.e. when
under greater loads: the static holdup of 2nd section with a biolm
thickness of 282 lm was lower than that of Sections 3 and 4 whose
biolm thicknesses were 243 and 219 lm, respectively. This implies that biolm porosity and variations in thickness should be taken into account simultaneously. The trend as described for regime
1 is the same as that for regime 2. The decline of static retention
when biolm thickness increased may be due to the reduction of
biolm porosity. Where the biolm is thick (e.g. 294 lm in the
1st section under greater loads), it acts like a barrier to the internal
pores of the particle, limiting the outside/inside water exchange. At
a lower hydraulic load (0.29 m/h), liquid was adsorbed mainly into
the pores of the thick biolm and thus captured; in contrast, at a
higher load (0.73 m/h), the liquid could penetrate the biolm and
be partially adsorbed by the particles, thus leading to greater static
retention. Thanks to lower biolm density and to a higher ow
rate, thinner biolm (e.g. 135 lm in 3rd section) could also produce greater static retention (70%) than thick biolm in the same
section (58% with biolm thickness of 243 lm in 3rd section).
3.2. Dynamic holdup
The dynamic holdup experiments in two bioreactors without
biomass and under different hydraulic loads were rst carried
out using the draining method. On the basis of the real-time liquid
draining mass curve during the dynamic experiments, two portions of dynamic holdup were distinguished: a linear segment, representing the fast dynamic fraction, and the coherent curve
segment, representing the slow dynamic fraction.
120%
s of entire pilot Lf=248 mm
s of section 1 Lf=294 mm
s of section 2 Lf=282 mm
s of section 3 Lf=243 mm
s of section 4 Lf=219 mm
s of section 5 Lf=202 mm
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0.2
0.4
Table 4
Static retention measurements and Fad of two reactors.
Reactor
mDP (kg)
VLS (m3)
e (%)
bS calculated (%)
bS measured (%)
TFC
MSB
75
25
42
14
41.842.2
13.814.1
0.042
0.014
79.1
77.4
84
84
8485
8384
168
15%
stage stage
Stage 3
End of drainage
15
12
Slow dynamic
9
Fast dynamic
6
3
flowrate=0.3m3/h in TFC
0
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
18
d of entire pilot
d of section 1
d of section 2
d of section 3
d of section 4
d of section 5
12%
9%
6%
3%
Time (h)
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
100%
25%
static retention in TFC
dynamic retention in TFC
80%
60%
40%
20%
15%
10%
5%
20%
0%
d of entire pilot
d of section 1
d of section 2
d of section 3
d of section 4
d of section 5
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.5
1.5
2.5
hydraulic loads used for the TFC was higher. Just as the discussion
from Table 4, it implies this type of media has constant adsorptive
capacity of liquid when no biolm was present. In contrast, in the
case of MSB the dynamic retention increased (from 9% to 25%)
when the hydraulic loads rose (from 0.14 to 0.87 m/h). It indicates
that the dynamic holdup will increase when increasing the ow
rate. Even if the experiments in the TFC were carried out at a greater hydraulic load (2.39 m/h), its dynamic retention (25.6%) was no
much higher than the best recorded for the MSB (25%). This resulted from the different mass of packing applied into the column;
however, the net volume of liquid dynamic holdup was higher than
that in the MSB.
3.2.2. With biolm
In the MSB, the liquid retention experiments were carried out
after biolm development on the medium at the same ow rates
as those applied when no biolm was present. The liquid retention
at regimes with biolm in each section and in the entire pilot setup is presented in Fig. 6 in relation to the surface hydraulic loads.
From Fig. 6, it can be seen that the dynamic retention varied little (from 5% to 10% for the entire pilot set-up) when the ow rates
rose compared to the static retention which signicantly increased
(from 24% to 83%) with higher hydraulic loads (see Fig. 3). Those
results mean that the majority of the liquid was held by the particles coated by biolm. It was also observed that under various
operating conditions in each section, the liquid dynamic retention
fractions stayed lower, ranging between 5% and 15%. The maxima
on liquid dynamic retention observable in Fig. 6, at hydraulic loads
slightly higher than 0.40 m/h, is difcult to justify by an error measurement as mass balance and timer accuracies are very good. So
we believe that it could be due to an accumulation of water in
the 2nd section, due to a thicker biolm presence compare to other
Fig. 6. Liquid dynamic retention in relation to the surface hydraulic load with
biolm.
169
1.6
1.2
0.8
1.0
E ()
conductivity (ms/cm)
1.4
1.2
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.2
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
0.0
14000
Time (s)
Fig. 9. Experimental RTD curve at the ow rate of 0.0091 m3/h in the MSB with/
without biolm.
Fig. 7. Conductivity versus time under different surface hydraulic loads in MSB.
Table 5
Liquid holdup volume calculation with tpeak and ow rate Q.
1.2
1
Q
(m3/h)
TFC
0.3
tpeak
(s)
Vliquid
(m3)
VLd
(m3)
VLt
(m3)
fLSE
(%)
129
0.01075
0.01172
0.05610
0.0091
0.0137
0.0182
0.0228
1260
960
780
640
0.0032
0.0037
0.0039
0.0041
0.00290
0.00370
0.00390
0.00430
0.01710
0.01790
0.01810
0.01850
2
0
0
0
0.0091
0.0137
0.0182
0.0228
1200
960
720
590
0.0030
0.0037
0.0036
0.0037
0.00092
0.00104
0.00132
0.00178
0.00672
0.00964
0.01300
0.01598
36
30
20
14
0.0091
0.0137
0.0182
0.0228
1080
960
960
480
0.0027
0.0037
0.0049
0.0030
0.00083
0.00098
0.00112
0.00114
0.00493
0.00868
0.01262
0.01654
46
35
32
12
0.2
0
E ()
2
1.5
Fig. 10. Experimental and calculated RTD curves in the MSB with biolm 2.
with biofilm 2
2.5
1
0.5
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
E ()
without biofilm
0.6
0.4
time, the higher peaks implying less tracer adsorption by the solids. However, the asymmetric behavior of the tail in the curves
may be due to the presence of stagnant zones. If the time tpeak
(when the conductivity is at the maximum) is assumed as the theoretical liquid residence time stheo, the liquid holdup volumes Vliquid
can be calculated as the tpeak multiplied by the ow rate Q. The liquid holdup represented by the RTD curve should generally correspond to the dynamic holdup [16]. However, Viva and Brunazzi, [1]
reported that the liquid holdup in the RTD curves of catalytic structured packing corresponded to the total liquid holdup (the dynamic holdup plus the static holdup) determined by the drainage
method. In our study, the results of Vliquid can be compared with
the dynamic holdup volume VLd and the total holdup volume VLt
2.5
Calculated curve
0.8
E ()
Types
experimental curve
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
10
(a)
(b)
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Fig. 8. Dimensionless RTD curves at different ow rate in two reactors without and with biolm.
170
Table 6
Analysis from the model of n CSTR with dead zone in series.
Flow rate (m3/h)
Q
S.H.L (m/h)
TFC
0.3
MSB no biolm
0.0091
0.0137
0.0182
0.0228
0.0091
0.0137
0.0182
0.0228
Type
No. of CSTR
n
Variance
r2
2.39
0.88
23
0.21
0.02
16
0.29
0.44
0.58
0.73
0.61
0.46
0.4
0.49
7
8
9
13
0.51
0.51
0.54
0.45
0.83
0.64
0.58
0.45
5
7
13
14
0.29
0.44
0.58
0.73
0.72
0.63
0.6
0.55
2
4
5
6
0.61
0.83
0.64
0.52
2.71
1.93
1.82
0.65
7
6
7
15
these fractions implies that increasing the hydraulic loads will reduce the diffusion of tracer between the static liquid phase and the
dynamic liquid phase; whereas the diffusion will increase during
the biolm development process under the same hydraulic conditions. These changes may result from the reduction of contact time
between the liquid and solid phase when the ow rate rises.
The curves of dimensionless E (h) as a function of the dimensionless time h at different hydraulic loads for the bioreactors both
without and with biolm are plotted in Fig. 8a and b. The dimensionless time h was calculated as the ratio of the time t to tpeak.
The liquid holdup volume Vliquid taken from Table 5 was also used
for the C0 calculation.
In Fig. 8, comparing the RTD curves acquired at a greater ow
rate in the TFC, such RTD curves at lower ow rates in the MSB display lower peaks but a greater distribution area (h P 12) which
was assumed to be due to the sustained release of liquid in the column. The tails of the curves in the MSB may be due to the presence
of stagnant zones in the column.
Furthermore, the regimes with and without biolm were compared at each volumetric ow rate (see Fig. 8). An example for a
ow rate of 0.0091 m3/h is shown in Fig. 9.
From Fig. 9, it is clear that the presence of biolm lengthened
the liquid residence time in the lter (h ? 15) compared to times
without biolm (h ? 11). This could imply two time scales phenomena: one was related to the dynamic ow; the other was related to the diffusive process that was promoted by the presence
of biolm which decreased the packing bed porosity and increased
the contact time between liquid and biolm. A sustained-release
process is also signied by the longer tail in the RTD curve. In addition, lower peak when biolm was present implies more tracer
adsorption in the biolm compare to the higher peak when biolm
was absent. Furthermore, the same behavior was also observed at
other ow rates. In a bioreactor with biomass, the tracer can be
transported within the biolm by diffusion. The biolm slowly ex-
0.4
Nparticles =23920
Nparticles =8350
0.3
0.2
LinTFCwithoutbiofilm
LinMSBwithoutbiofilm
LinMSBwithbiofilm1
LinMSBwithbiofilm2
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Error (%)
changes the tracer with the ow-through zones; this can signicantly increase the tailing potential and lead to a sustained
release process which was also observed and investigated by Riemer et al. [17] who proposed a biodiffusion model to t the liquid residence time distribution in their study.
For the liquid distribution in a trickle bed, it is widely accepted
in many studies that a Gaussian Plug Flow (PF) model with axial
dispersion may t the liquid prole when longer tails are present;
on the other hand, the model of n Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor
(CSTR) with stagnant/dead zone reported by Levich et al.; SantAnna et al. [18,19] has also been widely employed for investigating
the liquid prole in a Trickle Filter. Moreover, a Plug Flow reactor
can be approximated by a large number of CSTR in series. Hence
the model of n CSTR with stagnant/dead zones in series in the form
of Eq. (10) was applied to investigate the RTD in both bioreactors
with the variance derived in the following equation:
1
nn
nh
hn1 e m
n
m n 1!
Eh
r2
t 2 Ct
P
1
Ct
10
11
where the exchange between the dynamic and static phases increased when the biolm was present. It indicates that the presence
of biolm will result in enhanced mass diffusion in the lter.
Comparing the mean Liquid Residence Times l obtained for the
regime without biolm and for the biolm 2 regime, the presence
of biolm indeed lengthened the residence time in the bioreactor(e.g. from 0.83 to 2.71 h at a ow rate of 0.0091 m3/h).
The presence of biolm effectively lengthened the liquid residence time, improving efciency in pollutants treatment.
4. Conclusion
Different hydraulic experiments were carried out, essentially in
a new type of TF made up of a Multi-Section Bioreactor packed
with concrete block medium particles. The purpose of the study
was to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics particularly
in the light of the inuence of biolm on hydrodynamic behavior.
171
The static experiments with biolm indicate that most of the liquid will be retained by the particles coated with biolm, increasing
static retention and, consequently, reducing dynamic retention. It
was also found that the liquid static holdup makes a greater contribution to total liquid holdup than the dynamic holdup on account of the
high adsorption potential of the Concrete Block medium resulting
from its porous structure. However the static holdup is not in correlation with the conguration of TF comparing with the results of TFC.
RTD experiments show that at lower ow rates, the mass diffusion between the liquid and biolm was better than that at higher
ow rates. Increasing the hydraulic load will result in the ow pattern approaching to the plug ow pattern in the bioreactor. The liquid volumes represent in the RTD agreed with the dynamic
holdup volumes obtained by the drainage method with no biolm
is present. However, with biolm, these liquid volumes represent
not only the dynamic holdup but also partial static holdup volume
resulting from the sustained release of partial static holdup in the
biolm. The LRT calculated from RTD models shows that the presence of biolm will lead to a longer liquid residence time in the lter and thus promote the distribution of liquid in the bioreactor. So,
comparing the drainage and RTD methods allow us to show that
diffusion phenomenon can occur in the biolm, increasing the contact time between liquid and biolm.
Furthermore, the presence of biolm will decrease the thickness
of the liquid lm compared with the regimes without biolm under the same hydraulic conditions on account of the greater surface
area and a smaller dynamic holdup volume.
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