Abstract
Thiobacillus ferooxidans immobilised in biomass support particles with activated carbon coating were used in a packed-bed bioreactor to study the combined effects of chemical and biological catalysis on the oxidation of ferrous iron. The effect of ferrous iron concentration (in the range 5-30 kg m-3) and of its volumetric loading on the kinetics of reaction were investigated. With low concentrations of ferrous iron, 5-10 kg m-3, the combined catalysis did not offer a significant advantage to oxidation of ferrous iron and the kinetics of reaction were slightly faster than those achieved with just the biological catalyst. With ferrous iron at a concentration of 20 kg m-3, the combination of chemical and biological catalysis resulted in a remarkable enhancement of the reaction rate. The maximum oxidation rate of ferrous iron in the presence of combined catalysts, 21.9 kg m-3h-1, was twice as high as that achieved with just the biological catalyst.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 562-570 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology |
Volume | 74 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 1999 |
Keywords
- Activated carbon
- Ferrous iron
- Immobilisation
- Oxidation
- Packed-bed bioreactor
- Thiobacillus ferrooxidans