A model for treating polluted air streams in a continuous two liquid phase stirred tank bioreactor

Biological air treatment systems have been widely under investigation in recent years. Inclusion of non-biodegradable organic solvents to these systems is a way to improve the biotic removal capacity of the systems. In this article the process of absorption and biodegradation of a hydrophobic organic compound in a two liquid phase stirred tank bioreactor has been modeled. Using the model it has been shown that the inclusion of an organic solvent is advantageous if certain conditions are met. Some simulation examples showed that the usefulness of adding an organic solvent to the system depends on kinetic parameters of biological reactions and mass transfer coefficients of pollutants and oxygen between the air and liquid phases. Since different factors influence the process, the usefulness of including an organic solvent to the system should be checked in each special case. The simple model presented in this article can help the prediction of the effect of amending a solvent to the bioreactor under a set of given conditions.