Stoichiometric limitation is well known in bacterial growth systems and must be taken into account while characterising an industrial effluent. I'm looking for papers that are related to that topic. My previous research on google were not satisfactory.
I think that the best way to know the BOD/N/P ratio for heterotrophic baterial's growth is to determine it at the plant lab.
Hi Mouhamadou, as a first approximation you can look at the elemental composition of your target biomass (CHNSOP) grown under optimal conditions. For E. coli, for example, Folsom and Carlson (2015) reported a composition of CH1.74N0.21O0.51 (Article Physiological, elemental composition, and proteomic analyses...
) suggesting a C:N ratio of 5:1. This is lower than Sadra Safaei his value as well as values reported for anaerobic digesters (http://ressign.com/UserArticleDetails.aspx?arid=7123; BOD5
: TKN : P = 100 : 3 : 1.3). The actual BOD : N : P ratio depends on the bioavailability and biodegradability of the substrates used as well as growth-limiting conditions. Check out following papers for further info: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025326X97000076; https://academic.oup.com/plankt/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/plankt/20.3.4). All the best, Rob.
Thank You all for yours answers. Particular thanks to Dear Robert Thomas Bachmann, for your detailed answers.