Due to increasingly stringent legal regulations as well as increasing social awareness, the removal of odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air is gaining importance. This paper presents the strategy to compare selected biological methods intended for the removal of different air pollutants, especially of odorous character. Biofiltration, biotrickling filtration and bioscrubbing technologies are evaluated in terms of their suitability for the effective removal of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic VOCs as well as typical inorganic odorous compounds. A pairwise comparison model was used to assess the performance of selected biological processes of air treatment. Process efficiency, economic, technical and environmental aspects of the treatment methods are taken into consideration. The results of the calculations reveal that biotrickling filtration is the most efficient method for the removal of hydrophilic VOCs while biofilters enable the most efficient removal of hydrophobic VOCs. Additionally, a simple approach for preliminary method selection based on a decision tree is proposed. The presented evaluation strategies may be especially helpful when considering the treatment strategy for air polluted with various types of odorous compounds.
This paper presents the results of investigations on the removal of cyclohexane vapors from air using a peat-perlite packed biotrickling filter. Effects of basic process parameters i.e. inlet loading and empty bed residence time as well as introduction of n-butanol to the treated air stream and starvation periods on the process performance were evaluated. The results show that the introduction of hydrophilic n-butanol results in an enhanced removal of hydrophobic cyclohexane comparing to the experiments where only cyclohexane was treated. Additionally, the biotrickling filter performance after the starvation events is regained to more extent for mixed system than for the single cyclohexane. A novel and interesting element of the paper is the application of an electronic nose for the process monitoring. Obtained results are discussed in the perspective of an influence of the presence of a compound with different affinity to aqueous phase on the removal efficiency of the compound with opposite chemical properties. Keywords Biofiltration • Biotrickling filter • Cyclohexane • n-Butanol • Removal of VOCs • Electronic nose List of symbols a Coefficient of MLR model B Boiling point (°C) BF Biotrickling filter BTF Biotrickling filtration c Concentration of cyclohexane in the gas mixture (ppm v/v) C Concentration of cyclohexane in the gas mixture (mg m −3) d Internal diameter of BTF (m) EC Elimination capacity (g m −3 h −1) EBRT Empty bed residence time s GC Gas chromatography h Total height of a BTF packing (m) H Henry's constant (mol m −3 Pa −1)
Air pollution with odorous compounds is a significant social and environmental problem. This paper presents biological deodorization methods. The attention is focused on the application of biotrickling filters for air deodorization. Principles of their operation are discussed, indicating the key role of the selection of microorganisms responsible for the degradation of odorous compounds. A literature overview of the used fungal species is presented and the advantages of using fungi in comparison with bacteria are indicated. The results of experimental studies on the n-butanol removal in biotrickling filter are presented.
Biotrickling filtration is one of the techniques used to reduce odorants in the air. It is based on the aerobic degradation of pollutants by microorganisms located in the filter bed. The research presents the possibility of using the electronic nose prototype combined with artificial neural network for biofiltration process monitoring in terms of reduction in n-butanol concentration and odour intensity of treated air. The study was conducted using two-section biotrickling filter packed with a commercially available mixture of peat and perlite during 42 days with different n-butanol inlet concentrations, i.e., 100, 200, 400, and 800 ppm. During the tests, a concentration and odour intensity removal efficiency of around 90% and 20% was obtained, respectively. It has been shown that the highest values were obtained for an inlet n-butanol concentration of 200-400 ppm.
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