A trickle-bed reactor (TBR) when operated in a trickle flow regime reduces liquid resistance to mass transfer because a very thin liquid film is in contact with the gas phase and results in improved gas–liquid mass transfer compared to continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). In the present study, continuous syngas fermentation was performed in a 1-L TBR for ethanol production by Clostridium r...

Fluidized-bed bioreactors (FBBR’s) offer a promising alternative to existing treatment technologies for the treatment of water contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The objective of this research was to test a laboratory-scale FBBR for removal of trichloroethene (TCE) from groundwater and to study the FBBR kinetic behavior so that field-scale treatment systems could be designed. Phenol was se...

A fluidized bed bioreactor has been used to carry out biological denitrification in the present work as it offers many advantages over other types of reactors. Plastic beads of low density (1055 kg/m3) were used as fluidizing media with Pseudomonas stuzeri, a denitrifying microorganism immobilized on them. The denitrification rate under different operating conditions was studied. The results of...

This study investigated perchlorate reduction by sulfur utilizing perchlorate reducing bacteria (SUPeRB). SUPeRB cultures were enriched from a denitrifying wastewater inoculum in medium containing elemental sulfur (S), crushed oyster shell, nutrients and perchlorate. Perchlorate was reduced from 5 to < 0.5 mg/L in approximately 15 days. The enrichment culture was subsequently inoculated into a ...

Biosurfactants are surface active substances which reduce interfacial tension and are produced or excreted at the microbial cell surface. We evaluated the biosurfactant production by Aspergillus fumigatus and Phialemonium sp. in solid state processes using fixed-bed column reactors. We evaluated two media, rice husks alone (simple support) and rice husks plus defatted rice bran (complex support...

The Trickle algorithm has been proposed as a suitable protocol for effective and efficient distribution and maintenance of code in wireless sensor networks. In this report we analyze the suitability of the Trickle algorithm for lighting control in terms of its parameter settings. We do this by developing and analyzing mathematical models of the Trickle algorithm assuming interference-free netwo...