Title: Modeling sorption of emerging contaminants in biofilms,
Abstract: A mathematical model for emerging contaminants sorption in multispecies
biofilms, based on a continuum approach and mass conservation principles is
presented. Diffusion of contaminants within the biofilm is described using a
diffusion-reaction equation. Binding sites formation and occupation are modeled
by two systems of hyperbolic partial differential equations are mutually
connected through the two growth rate terms. The model is completed with a
system of hyperbolic equations governing the microbial species growth within
the biofilm; a system of parabolic equations for substrates diffusion and
reaction and a nonlinear ordinary differential equation describing the free
boundary evolution. Two real special cases are modelled. The first one
describes the dynamics of a free sorbent component diffusing and reacting in a
multispecies biofilm. In the second illustrative case, the fate of two
different contaminants has been modelled.