The intrinsic kinetics of nitrification in a continuous flow suspended growth reactor

The intrinsic rate of nitrification was observed in a continuous flow reactor by eliminating external and internal diffusional resistances. The former were minimized by means of intense agitation, and the latter by mechanical rupture of the activated sludge floc using high impeller rotational speeds. The experimental results obtained from the continuous flow experiments confirmed the applicability of Michaelis-Menten kinetics to the activated sludge nitrification process. A possible dependency of k on contact time was found, larger values of k being observed under shorter contact times. The Michaelis constant K, was found practically unaffected by the contact times used in this study.