Air stripping and dissolution rates of aromatic hydrocarbon particles in a bioreactor

The design of bioremediation reactors for destroying toxic organic compounds requires an understanding of the mass transfer behavior of these chemicals into and out of the vessel. The dissolution rates and air stripping of three aromatic hydrocarbon particles were measured and theoretically modeled in a well mixed bioreactor with varying agitation speed, temperature, slurry concentration and air flow rate. It was confirmed that the dissolution rate of particles is influenced by both solubility and molecular structure. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient of dissolution increased with higher agitation speeds and higher temperatures. This study indicates that stripping from the liquid phase to the gas phase was controlled by physical properties: that is high Henry's law constant and relatively low solubility. The mechanistic model successfully predicted the disappearance of particles and the dissolved concentration of aromatic compounds due to simultaneous dissolution and air stripping.