Measurement of dissolved oxygen and its diffusivity in aerobic granules using a lithographically-fabricated microelectrode array.

A novel gold microelectrode array (MEA) was manufactured with microfabrication techniques and applied on the measurement of dissolved oxygen profile in an aerobic granule. The MEA contained five gold microelectrodes, which had a good linear response to dissolved oxygen and typically had a lifetime of more than 10 days. Dissolved oxygen microprofiles near the surface of an aerobic granule were monitored with this MEA. Based on the measurements, an oxygen effective diffusivity in the upper 100 microm layer of the aerobic granule was estimated to be 1.19 x 10(-9) m2/s. The experimental results demonstrate that the MEA was able to measure the DO levels in aerobic granules accurately and precisely and that the MEA could be used to determine constituents, profiles, and functions in situ in small spaces. Moreover, since the device shape and microelectrode arrangement were all defined by photolithography, the proposed fabrication procedure was flexible and appropriate for fabrication of various types of MEAs.