Bacterial Wall Attachment in a Flow Reactor

A mathematical model of microbial growth for limiting nutrients in a fully three dimensional flow reactor which accounts for the colonization of the reactor wall surface by the microbes is studied analytically. It can be viewed as a model of the large intestine or of the fouling of a commercial bioreactor or pipe flow. Two steady state regimes are identified, namely, the complete washout of the microbes from the reactor and the successful colonization of both the wall and bulk fluid by the microbes. Only one steady state is stable for any particular set of parameter values. Sharp and explicit conditions are given for the stability of each. The effects of adding an antimicrobial agent to the reactor are examined with and without wall growth. Key words. plug flow, bacterial wall growth, gut, elliptic and parabolic boundary value problem, nonlinear boundary conditions AMS subject classifications. 92A15, 35K55, 34B25 PII. S0036139901390416

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: SIAMAM
• Authors: Don Jones, Dung Le, Hal Smith, Hristo V. Kojouharov
• Keywords: Dimensional Flow Reactor, Reactor Wall Surface, SIAMAM 2002, Steady State