Validation of a multisubstrate mathematical model for the simulation of the denitrification process in fluidized bed biofilm reactors

The present paper compares the experimental results obtained from a research programme developed on a pilot-scale fluidized bed biofilm reactor and the outputs of a numeric simulation model; the mathematical model can determine the substrate concentration profile within the reactor. The experimental campaign investigated heterotrophic biological denitrification in anoxic conditions. The model is based on multi-substrate Michaelis-Menten kinetics and considers mass transport resistancephenomena within and outside bioparticles. A monodimensional model of the reactor taking into consideration, in steady-state condition, phenomena due to convective transport and turbulent diffusion has been used. The fluidization model applied to describe the behaviour of the biofilm-covered rigid particle bed is based on the Wen and Yu correlation.