I operate a bioreactor at 50 Celsius, whose heating system failed. Upon fixing the heating system within the next couple of days after failing, I noticed that there is a quite a bit of water that the reactor with drew from water displacement reservoir (to measure volume of biogas produced) the next day. From what I interpret, when the heating system kicked in, the temperature rose from 25 C to 55C, which might have resulted in expansion of the inside the bioreactor and then drew water into the reactor to equilibrate.
Also, I tried removing the excess liquid from bioreactor, and when I did, reactor draws more water as I remove, to maintain its levels. More sort of a level controller based on pressure.
I did fix all the problems now after troubleshooting. I am trying to understand the science/ principle and mechanism behind all this. I'd appreciate your insights on this!
Note: After water entering the reactor, level rose to a point where the tip of the tube connected to water displacement reservoir touches the liquid level.
Article Role of Membrane Bioreactors in Environmental Engineering Applications
Conference Paper MEMBRANE IN WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT
these may help
Regards
Anthony Tushar Giduthuri
The effect that you describe is quite familiar to me as we learned some 40 years ago in our first large biogas plants in S.E. Asia when a tropical shower cooled down the roof and upper sides of the API650 steel bioreactors. This effect was due to the cooling of the biogas in the head space of the bioreactor. I assume that the same happened in your case albeit much slower (days i.o. minutes).
Without seeing the equipment of a detailed drawing, it sounds like you have a self-siphoning occurring. Here is a Youtube video on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vV_z_0lFQ8
Article Design of a Petroleum Reservoir as a Bioreactor Undergoing M...
Article Bioreactor monitoring with spectroscopy and chemometrics: A review
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