BIOLOGICAL OXIDATION

PRINCIPLES
RICH, 1963
 1-1. Introduction
• Unit process:
• Not as defined as UO
• UO  physical process  math relationships
• UP  chemical/biological nature  difficult
to express in math relationships
• UP or UO?
• Table 1-1
Table 1-1
 UP/UO?
• A treatment process:
– a particular method of accomplishing something
– Involving 1/more UP and/ UO
• UO & UP:
– Individual physical, chemical & biological
processes
– Clearly distinguished by the fundamental
principles involved
 Example
• WWTP  Activated sludge process
• 3 UO & 1 UP
• UO:
– The transport of air to the tank
– The transfer of oxygen from the gas to the liquid
waste
– The transport of liquid waste to, through & from the
tank
• UP biological oxidation  waste materials
contacted with activated sludge in the presence
of O2
 Same principles apply
• Study of treatment processes  UO & UP
concept
• Same principles apply to UO or UP regardless of
treatment process/system is used
• Ex.
– Same laws apply to sedimentation process in WTP &
WWTP
– Basic factors in activated sludge processes = trickling
filters
• Study of treatment processes  UO & UP:
– Duplication is avoided
– Focused on fundamentals
 Design of treatment process
• Acomplished by the proper combination of
UO & UP
• Treatment process & other processes 
treatment system
 1-2 Biological Oxidation
• Biological oxidation  biochemical reactions
 materials + O2  energy
• Aerobic respiration:
– Differences in mechanism
– Final resuts: biological oxidation = chemical
oxidation
 Organic materials
• Performed on organic materials in most cases
• Organic materials composed of a relatively few
elements:
• C, H, O, N, P, S
• C, H, O  building blocks  major portion
• N, P, S  smaller amounts
• Other elements:
– Measurable and
– Trace quantities
Significance of biological oxidation
• Best explained  how the elements normally
transformed in nature
• Fig. 1-1  carbon route in a typical ecosystem
Fig 1-1
 Carbon route
• Non-living organic matter:
• Carbon (organic)  respiratory activities of
mo  CO2
• C (in CO2)  photosynthesis  plant
materials
• C:
–  plant respiration  inorganic state
– Non-living organic matter
– Assimilated  animal consumers
 Carbon route
• Animal  C
 animal respiration  CO2
 urea & other organic compounds  hydrolysis 
CO2
 Nitrogen cycle
• Fig. 1-2
 Cyclic path
• C, N, other elements in organic compounds
 cyclic path
 moving back & forth between organic &
inorganic states
• Forest, farm, polluted scream
• Most pertinent feature:
– Organic elements inorganic states
–  biological oxidation
 Cyclic path
• Organic C + O2 ------> CO2 (1-1)
mo
• Organic N + O2 ------> NO3- (1-1)
mo
 Demand on O
• Biological oxidation  demand on O
• Limited O supply  oxygen depletion 
anaeroiosis  nuisance condition  public
concerns  discharge of untreated organic
waste materials
 Environmental engineer
• Utilizes biological oxidation to convert organic
wastes to innocuous inorganic forms
• Use mo to duplicate portions of C, N & other
elemental cycles existing in nature
• Artificial env under controlled conditions to
minimize the nuisances
• Typical organic wastes: non-living organic matter
& urea
• Treatment path: solid lines leading to inorganic
compounds
 Mineralization of organic waste
• Not only with biological oxidation
• But also with chemical oxidation 
combustion
 1-3 Theoretical oxygen demand
• Organic H + O2 ------> H2O (1-3)
mo
• Organic P + O2 ------> PO43- (1-4)
mo
• Organic S + O2 ------> SO42- (1-5)
mo
 Amount of O required
• The amount of O required for the oxidation of
organic material composed of these elements
= the sum of the quantities required for the
oxidation of each element – O initially in the
organic molecule
Complete oxidation of organic matter
• Expressed quantitatively on an empirical mole
basis:
CaHbOcNdPeSf + (a+0.25b+1.25d+1.25e+1.5f-0.5c)O2

aCO2+(0.5b-0.5d-1.5e-f)H2O+dNO3-+ePO43-+fSO42-
+(d+3e+2f)H+ (1-6)
 Production of ammonia
• Modification equation if nitrogen is not oxidized to
nitrate:
CaHbOcNdPeSf + (a + 0.25b - 0.75d + 1.25e + 1.5f -
0.5c)O2 
aCO2 +(0.5b - 1.5d - 1.5e - f)H2O + dNH3 + ePO43-+
fSO42-+ (3e+2f)H+ (1-6)
 Organism metabolism
• The rate of O utilized in biological oxidation
related to:
– The growth and
– Maintenance of living organism
• Fig 3
• Organics assimilated by organisms:
– Furnish the elements for protoplasm construction
– Provide the energy for protoplasm synthesis
 Endogenous respiration
• Occurs once assimilable organic matter is
unavailable
• An auto-oxidation that supplies the energy
required for the maintenance of protoplasm
•  replacement of worn-out components of
protoplasm through synthesis
Growth pattern & kinetics of biological
oxidation
• Is in order
• Since growth is associated with:
– The rate of biological oxidation
– The rate of oxygen utilization
• Example 1-1
 1-4 Growth pattern
• Fig 1-4: classic growth pattern exhibited by mo
in a batch culture
• Growth passes  3 different phases
1. constant growth phase
2. declining growth phase
3. endogenous growth phase
Fig 1-4
 Constant growth phase
• Initially
– all nutrients present in excess
– Growth is unrestricted
• The concentration of mo increases at an
exponential rate
 declining growth phase
At some concentration
• One of the nutrients becomes growth limiting
• increasing competition of the mo for the limiting
nutrient
• The rate of growth decreases
• Until finally halts
• The limiting nutrient is depleted
• The replacement of those organisms that die is
impossible
 Endogenous/auto-oxidation growth
phase
• Mo concentration decreases
• A lag phase:
– A phase in which the mo become adjusted to
the culture env
– Occurs once mo are introduced to a growth
medium to which they are not acclimated
– Not shown in Fig 1-4
 Modifications
• Growth behaviour in batch culture does not
follow the classic pattern in Fig 1-4
 modifications
 varying ratios of nutrients to mo in the
culture medium
Modification 1: constant growth curve
1. All nutrients present in large excess initially in
substrate
2. Small inoculum introduced to the substrate
• Fig 1-5(a)  constant growth curve
• Initial lag phase constant growth place 
concentration of microorganisms increasing
exponentially
• Mo increase  nutrients decrease rapidly
• At some concentration of mo  one of the
nutrients  growth limiting  growth rapidly
declines
Fig 1-5
Modification 1: constant growth curve
• Growth  predominantly exponential
• (1-8)

• S = concentration of mo
• T = time
• K = specific growth rate
• K  constant that unic for the mo at a given
temp:
– Nutrients are in excess
– Env factors are favorable for growth
 Modification 2: declining growth curve
1. nutrients fed continuously in quantities sufficient
to maintain nutrients concentrations
2. large inoculum introduced to a batch system
• Fig 1-5(b)  declining growth curve
• Continuously fed batch culture  concentration of
nutrients remain constant

• Growth pattern  the competition of nutrients 

predominantly declining growth
 Modification 2: declining growth curve
Math model = (1-8)
 k = is not constant  varies as a function of the
concentration of the limiting nutrients

Km = growth rate constant

C = concentration of the limiting nutrient
Cb = concentration of the limiting nutrient required
for basal metabolism
K = saturation constant
 Fig 1-6
• Cb  concentration of nutrients just sufficient
to sustain the basal metabolism of the
organism
• Concentrations of nutrient < concentration to
sustain the basal metabolism of the organism
•  energy requirements  endogenous
respiration at the expense of living protoplasm
• km = maximum value of k when nutrients are
non-limiting growth
 Modifications
• Modificitaions of the classic growth pattern
• Differences:
– Relative quantities of nutrients present
– The response of growth to these nutrients
quantities
 km
• Controlled by:
– Inherent nature of the me
– Physical & chemical factors
• Temp, pH  profound effects
• Salinity  influence on osmotic pressure
• Organic & inorganic toxic agents  reduce km
 Relationships between assimilated
organics & growth
• Fig 1-3 organic material assimilated by a mo
furnishes:
• Elements for protoplasm construction
• Energy required for organic material synthesis

• ds/dt = growth rate

• dc/dt = rate of change in concentration of organics due
to assimilation
• dc/dtb = rate of change in concentration of organics
necessary to meet the basic metabolic requirements
• a = constant
 Fig 1-7
• dc/dtb = rate of change in the Cb 
concentration of nutrients just sufficient to
sustain the basal metabolism of the organism
• dc/dtb < concentration to sustain the basal
metabolism of the organism
•  energy requirements  endogenous
respiration at the expense of living protoplasm
• km = maximum value of k when nutrients are
non-limiting growth
Fig 1-7
 Basal metabolic requirement
• Basal metabolic requirement ≈ mo
concentration

• b = constant
• Eq 1-10 
 1-5 nutrients
• Nutritional requirements of mo:
• Compounds that furnish the elements C & N
• Compounds used as sources of energy
• Inorganic ions
• Growth factors
 Proroplasm composition
• Mo differs widely  basic composition of their
protoplasm is quite uniform
• Protoplasm composition:
• Proteins  largely
• Fats & carbohydrates  significant quantities
• CaHbOcNdPeSf  Eq 1-6
• Protoplasm & organic materials  similar
•  most organics have their origin in living
processes
 Elemental requirements of mo
• Reflect the chemical nature of their protoplasm
• Autotrophs: C derives only from CO2
• Heterotrophs: C from organic sources
• Facultative autotrophs: C from CO2 & organic
sources
• Autotrophs: N from inorganic forms only
• Heterotrophs: N from inorganic & organic forms
• Autotrophs: energy from inorganic forms &
light (photosynthetic forms)
• Heterotrophs: energy from organic sources
• Autotrophs: P & S from inorganic phosphates
& sulfates
• Heterotrophs: P from inorganic phosphates; S
from inorganic sulfates & organic compounds
 Other nutrients & vitamins
• Important in nutrition  minute quantities
• Include: Mg, K, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co
• Co  micronutrients
• Vitamins  very small amount  important
roles in life process