Mass transfer in a membrane aerated biofilm

Charlotte Picard (1, 2) , Sébastien Logette (2) , Jean-Christophe Schrotter (2) , Pierre Aimar (1) , Jean-Christophe Remigy (1)

1 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
2 Veolia Environnement (FRANCE)

We present experimental results of mass transfer of a non reactive tracer gas (neon)measured in aerobic heterotrophic biofilm developed from activated sludge. Biofilms are grown in various hydrodynamic conditions and the effective diffusivity is used to quantify the mass transfer through the biofilm. Beyond some cross-flow conditions, the effective diffusivity through the biofilm seems larger than in the bulk. This can be explained by a dispersion generated by convection inside the biofilm, as supported by an analytical flow model and in accordance to the numerical simulation proposed by Aspa et al. (2011).

Mots clés: Mass transfer; Convection; Membrane aerated biofilm; Wastewater treatment; Effective diffusivity

Domaines: Génie chimique

Charlotte Picard, Sébastien Logette, Jean-Christophe Schrotter, Pierre Aimar, Jean-Christophe Remigy. Mass transfer in a membrane aerated biofilm. Water Research, 2012, Vol. 46, pp. 4761-4769. ⟨10.1016/j.watres.2012.05.056⟩. ⟨hal-00873332⟩