Development of novel biofilters for treatment of volatile organic compounds
- Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States). National Risk Management Research Lab.
- Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Biofiltration involves contacting a contaminated gas stream with immobilized microorganisms in a contactor to biodegrade the contaminants. It is emerging as an attractive technology for removing low concentrations (i.e., less than 800 ppmv) of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from air. Compared with other technologies, biofiltration fully mineralizes the contaminants, is inexpensive and reliable, and requires no posttreatment. In the study described in this paper, four types of media consisting of porous ceramic monoliths with several straight passages were studied to determine the effects of adsorptive and nonadsorptive media on biofilter startup time, dynamic response to step changes in inlet substrate concentration, biofilm adherence, and overall VOC-removal efficiency. Volatile compounds studied were benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, and o-xylene. Adsorbing media such as activated carbon, when compared with nonadsorbing media such as ceramic, exhibit faster biofilter startup, are more stable to dynamic changes in inlet concentration, and attain higher VOC-removal efficiencies due to better adherence of biofilm on media surfaces.
- OSTI ID:
- 479360
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950483--; ISBN 1-57477-010-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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