Modelling of phenol biodegradation by Candida tropicalis immobilised in alginate gel beads

Phenol‐degrading yeast Candida tropicalis were immobilised in alginate gel beads and photographed by scanning electron microscopy. Batch phenol biodegradation experiments were done in shaking flasks under varying conditions such as initial phenol concentrations and bead loadings. A mathematical model was proposed to simulate the batch phenol biodegradation process in the immobilised system, which took into account the internal and external mass transfer resistances of phenol and oxygen and the double‐substrate phenol–oxygen intrinsic kinetics. The validation of this model was done by the comparison between the model simulations and the experimental measurements of phenol concentration profiles in the main liquid phase. Moreover, the time and radius courses of phenol, oxygen, and cell concentration profiles within the alginate gel beads were reasonably predicted by the proposed model.