| The main objective of this study was to assess the effects of shear stress and a fluctuating substrate concentration on the EPS secretion. It is believed that the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of a biofilm contribute to the mechanical stability of the biofilm; however, the effect of changing shear stress and substrate loading on the secretion of biofilm EPS is not well understood. This research examined the EPS of a biofilm quantitatively during the change in shear stress and substrate loading as two separate experiments. During the study of shear stress, biofilm was grown in a rotating drum biofilm reactor and subjected to three different shear stresses namely, 0.1022 N/m 2 at 100 rpm, 0.1533 N/m2 at 150 rpm and 0.2044 N/m 2 at 200 rpm. Physical properties of the biofilm such as porosity and density were also monitored.; In another experiment, a laboratory scale rotating drum biological reactor was used to develop a biofilm and fluctuating substrate concentrations were applied by varying the influent COD concentrations to the reactor. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
