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PCB Biodegradation in Packed Bed Column

The document summarizes a problem involving the biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in a packed bed column. Cells capable of degrading PCB are entrapped in gel beads packed in a column. The column is fed PCB at 0.1 L/min. Part a calculates that an ideal, fully packed column would need a height of 8.4 m to degrade PCB from 1000 ppm to 10 ppm. Part b determines that the biodegradation rate is unaffected by mass transfer limitations. As such, the effectiveness factor is 1 and the height of the actual column accounting for void volume is calculated to be 9.9 m.

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Princess Janine Catral
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80 views2 pages

PCB Biodegradation in Packed Bed Column

The document summarizes a problem involving the biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) in a packed bed column. Cells capable of degrading PCB are entrapped in gel beads packed in a column. The column is fed PCB at 0.1 L/min. Part a calculates that an ideal, fully packed column would need a height of 8.4 m to degrade PCB from 1000 ppm to 10 ppm. Part b determines that the biodegradation rate is unaffected by mass transfer limitations. As such, the effectiveness factor is 1 and the height of the actual column accounting for void volume is calculated to be 9.9 m.

Uploaded by

Princess Janine Catral
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Biodegradation in a Packed Bed Column

Biochemical Engineering

Problem Statement: Cells capable of degrading polychlorinated biphenol (PCB) are entrapped
in spherical gel beads 0.5 cm in diameter. The beads are packed into a column 30 cm in diameter
and fill 85% of the column volume (i.e., void fraction=0.15). The column is fed with 1000ppm of
PCB at 0.1 L/min. Biodegradation follows the following rate expression.

r(s)=rm*s/(K+s+Ki*s2)
where rm= 0.01 g/L-h
K=0.001 g/L Ki=0.001 L/g
a. Calculate the height of an ideal (i.e., no mass transfer limitation), fully packed (i.e., no
void volume) column needed to degrade PCB down to 10 ppm.

Solution:
(This is an artificially made-up problem to facilitate easy calculation.) As an engineer,
you should make sure that the units are compatible. 1000 ppm is the same as 1g/L. Units
are extremely important in numerical answers, unless the answer happens to be
dimensionless. Note that the substrate concentration ranges between 0.01g/L to 1g/L.
Both the K and the Kis2 terms are small compared to s. Thus, the biodegradation rate is
zero order (i.e., constant) with r=rm=0.01 g/L-h. To degrade from 1g/L to 0.01g/L
requires a residence time of

sin-sout 1g/L-0.01g/L
t = ------- = ------------- = 99h
rm 0.01g/L-h

The length traveled in 99h is:

60min 0.1L 1000cm3 4


(99h)(-----)(----)(-------)(-----------) = 840cm = 8.4m
h min L *30cm*30cm
b. Calculate the effectiveness factor. Based on this number, calculate the height of the actual
column needed to achieve the same degree of PCB degradation as in Part a. PCB
diffusivity in gel beads is Ds=10-6 cm2/s.

Solution:
PCB biodegradation is a slow process, and conversion is normally reaction limited.
Besides, the reaction rate is constant; thus, even in the presence of mass transfer
limitation there is no difference in the reaction rate. The effectiveness factor, which is the
ratio of the observed rate conversion with mass transfer resistance to the ideal case
without mass transfer resistance, is 1. The height of the actual column needed is increased
by a factor of the void volume.
height = 8.4m/0.85 = 9.9m

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