Toluene and styrene removal from air in biofilters

H2S removal and bacterial structure along a full-scale biofilter bed packed with polyurethane foam in a landfill site

“…High elimination capacity was achieved under large substrate load. Similar results have been obtained in other research on odor removal (Rene et al, 2010;Zilli et al, 2001). In addition, higher concentrations of substrates will be treated more effectively under many conditions because it will drive the contaminant into the biofilm more rapidly and speed biodegradation, especially in a case of diffusion limitation.…”

Start-up and performance characteristics of a trickle bed reactor degrading toluene

“…Their higher EC value can be explained by their (almost twice) larger total surface area. The biofilter system, loaded by air flow rate, was able to operate steadily with a removal efficiency close to 100% at EBRT of 101, 50, 14 and 7s and comparable organic loads (Zilli et al, 2001). On the other hand, it should be noted that these results were obtained using a richer salt medium where the bed consisted of a mixture of sterilized peat (with a specific surface area of 1.6 m 2 .g −1 ) and glass beads of 5 mm in a 4:1 volume ratio, with a much higher surface area.…”

An Investigation on the Efficiency of Air Purification Using a Biofilter with Activated Bed of Different Origin

“…Since toluene is an organic material much less soluble in water, its concentration after this layer varied not as much as that of acetone. Removal efficiency of pollutants from cleaned air depends on gas residence time in biofilters (AlvarezHornos et al, 2007;Dorado et al 2008Dorado et al , 2010Dorado et al , 2012aGracy et al, 2006;Hwang and Tang, 1997;Jeong at al., 2006;Qi, 2005;Yoon and Park, 2002;Zilli et al, 2001). The longer is the empty bed residence time (EBRT) of polluted gas the higher removal efficiency can be observed.…”

“…Frequently, biofilter beds of artificial origin are composed of polyurethane, propylene, polythene, glass, ceramic balls and other materials. However, after some time all these materials disintegrate under the action of microorganisms (Aizpuru et al, 2003;Delhomenie et al, 2002;Deshusses et al, 1999;Szwast et al, 2012;Yamamoto et al, 2005;Zilli et al, 2001). …”