Improving the conditions for more efficient biodegradation of molecules

Abstract

In biological water purification, the pollutant molecules are degraded with the help of enzymes. The process can be divided into two successive sub-processes. The separation is based on the phenomena outside the biofilm and inside the biofilm. Outside the biofilm, mass transport is the dominant factor. Inside the biofilm, the laws of biochemistry prevail. Improving the conditions for decomposition can be achieved by a targeted modification
of the parameters of the relationships describing the phenomenon. In particular, the nutrient supply of biofilms can be controlled. The quantitative state of nutrient supply is characterized by the Pe-number (Peclet), whose optimal value is Pe = 1. In bankfiltration, Pe = 10 is the typical value, but orders of magnitude higher values can be achieved in biological filtration under artificial conditions. Wastewater treatment is one of the processes with a high Pe-number. When improving the efficiency of wastewater treatment, the goal of the measures is to reduce the Pe-number. Currently, there are hardly any possibilities to influence what happens inside the biofilm.