Course information

• Learning Objectives

  After completion of this course, you should be able to:

  • understand the definition of biofilms, motivation for modelling and modelling approaches for a biofilm
  • gain in-depth insights into modelling components and steps in the process
  • explain the basic principles of biofilm reactor modelling in practice, and get familiar models and available modelling tools
  • get familiar with various biofilm reactors
  • identify design parameters and learn how to determine maximum design fluxes and loading rates, and several other design considerations.
• Syllabus

  This course covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to Biofilms and Biofilm Reactors
  • Biofilm Reactors: Mass Balance and Design Approach
  • Biofilm Reactors: Overview
  • Biofilm Reactors: Pure Biofilm Systems
  • Biofilm Reactors: Hybrid Systems
  • Diffusion and Reaction in Biofilms
  • Substrate Concentrations and Flux for Zero Order Kinetics
  • Substrate Penetration and Limiting Substrate
  • Competition in Biofilms
  • Detachment
  • External Mass Transfer Resistance
  • Modelling of Biofilm Reactors
  • Practical Design
  • Computer-aided Design
  • Design and Modelling Parameters
  • Evaluation of Reactors
• Organization

  Courses in this series consist of video lectures, presentation slides, reading materials, exercises, and assignments with solutions. In principle, each video presentation has its complementary presentation slides. All videos are available for viewing in the section “Video-recorded presentations”. The materials are packaged in three (.zip) files, namely, the “Videos”, the “Presentations”, and the “Documents”. Files may be of considerable size, so you need to ensure that your computer has sufficient bandwidth and capacity for downloading. This course is based on the two chapters in the book “Biological Wastewater Treatment: Principles, Modeling, and Design” 2nd edition (Chen et al., 2020). To check and expand your knowledge on the subject, it is recommended to study the corresponding chapter in the complementary book  “Biological Wastewater Treatment: Examples and Exercises” (Lopez-Vazquez et al., 2023). The two chapters are open-access and available in the section “Documents (.zip) on this webpage.

• Delivery Method

  This course is currently designed for a SELF-STUDY mode. It is FREE, and does not include guidance, support, exams, assessment, and certification. It is possible that shortly, the series (or its parts) will be adopted by institutions that may deliver the guided version, including certification. This will be advertised on this website as soon as this is the case.

• Open Access

  The content is available for free unlimited access and use, consistent with Global Sanitation Graduate School’s commitment to ensuring open access to information and knowledge. Please note that the video materials fall under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), presentations under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), readers (OA books of IWA Publishing) under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), and other readers under the license specified by the publisher. Although care has been taken to ensure the integrity and quality of these materials and information, no responsibility is assumed by the author(s), Global Sanitation Graduate School, or IHE Delft Institute for Water Education for any damage to property or persons as a result of the use of these materials and/or the information contained herein.