An experimental model of biofilm detachment in liquid fluidized bed biological reactors

Dimensional analysis was applied for the description of biofilm detachment in liquid fluidized bed biological reactors. This technique allowed the identification of the significant parameters influencing detachment mechanisms and suggested suitable experiments for the characterization of involved phenomena. The influence of the significant variables was established on a lab-scale reactor and an empirical model was proposed to correlate experimental results. The detachment rate was strongly dependent on liquid velocity, while the influence of other parameters, such as solid hold-up and liquid shear stress, was found to be less important.