Effect of pH and loading manner on the start-up period of peat biofilter degrading xylene and toluene mixture

Biofiltration of Air: A Review

In this paper we present a review of the existing air pollution control technologies (APCT), when used essentially for the elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The biotechnologies referred to, bioscrubbers, biotrickling filters and biofilters, are also described. A more detailed review of biofiltration is proposed, presenting the most recent and latest developments achieved in the field of bioprocessing. In particular, the influence of the filter bed, the polluted air flowrates, the pollutants, the pressure drop, bed moisture content, temperature, nutrients, pH and the microorganisms are reviewed. Models of biofiltration are also presented.

Using UV pretreatment to enhance biofiltration of mixtures of aromatic VOCs

Mixtures of airborne toluene and o-xylene, two relatively recalcitrant volatile organic compounds (VOCs), were treated effectively using integrated UV-biofiltration. The set-up consisted of a biofilter receiving UV-pretreated stream and a reference biofilter receiving no pretreatment. Experimental conditions included UV fluences of 6 and 12 mJcm(-2) as well as air flow rates of 6.3 and 9.4 Lmin(-1), corresponding to biofilter empty bed retention times (EBRTs) of 45 and 30s, respectively. The inlet concentration of organics (toluene and o-xylene) ranged between 70 and 650 mg(carbon)m(-3). The UV-biofilter consistently provided removal efficiencies of greater than 95% over the range of toluene and o-xylene inlet concentrations. Also, the coupled UV-biofiltration system provided up to 60% additional contaminant removal compared to the sum of that offered by UV and reference biofilter, demonstrating the synergistic effect of UV on biofilter performance. The UV photooxidation partially oxidized a fraction of toluene and o-xylene into water soluble and more biodegradable intermediates, such as acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, which were readily removed in the downstream biofilter. These intermediates along with up to 20ppmv ozone, formed through the photolysis of oxygen by 185 nm UV, contributed to the enhanced degradation of parent VOCs in the biofilter as well as the absence of any inhibitory effects of the VOCs on one another. Also, the presence of ozone helped control the growth of excess biofilm in the UV-coupled biofilter. While the standalone biofilter showed significant pressure drop increase (of up to 14 mm H(2)Om(-1) of the bed) over the course of experiment, the UV-coupled biofilter maintained a relatively low pressure drop of less than 3 mmH(2)Om(-1) of the bed.

Isolation and selection of phenol-degrading microorganisms from industrial wastewaters and kinetics of the biodegradation

Among 22 species of microorganisms isolated from phenol-containing wastewaters, Candida parapsilopsis was found to be capable of growth on a medium with 1 g/L phenol. Kinetic parameters of phenol biodegradation in a batch reactor were determined by measuring biomass growth rates and phenol concentration as a function of fermentation time. The Haldane equation described cell growth adequately, with kinetic constants mumax = 0.174/h, KS = 11.2 mg/L and Ki = 298 mg/L.

Bacterial aerobic degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene

Several aerobic metabolic pathways for the degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX), which are provided by two enzymic systems (dioxygenases and monooxygenases), have been identified. The monooxygenase attacks methyl or ethyl substituents of the aromatic ring, which are subsequently transformed by several oxidations to corresponding substituted pyrocatechols or phenylglyoxal, respectively. Alternatively, one oxygen atom may be first incorporated into aromatic ring while the second atom of the oxygen molecule is used for oxidation of either aromatic ring or a methyl group to corresponding pyrocatechols or protocatechuic acid, respectively. The dioxygenase attacks aromatic ring with the formation of 2-hydroxy-substituted compounds. Intermediates of the "upper" pathway are then mineralized by either ortho- or meta-ring cleavage ("lower" pathway). BTEX are relatively water-soluble and therefore they are often mineralized by indigenous microflora. Therefore, natural attenuation may be considered as a suitable way for the clean-up of BTEX contaminants from gasoline-contaminated soil and groundwater.

Kinetics of phenol oxidation by Candida tropicalis: effects of oxygen supply rate and nutrients on phenol inhibition

The kinetics of phenol degradation was estimated in a fed-batch reactor system. Effects of oxygen and nutrient excess or limitation as well as the presence of several essential ions on the phenol- and oxygen-specific uptake rates achieved simultaneously in a bioreactor were shown. Candida tropicalis was grown on phenol as the only carbon and energy source. Applying the best fit of polynomial function, the maximum specific uptake rates of phenol and oxygen, the critical concentrations of phenol, the half-saturation constants and inhibition constants were determined. Linear relationship between specific phenol uptake rate and the exogenous respiration rate was found regardless of the kind and presence of essential nutrients. At oxygen limitation both the phenol uptake rate and the cell affinity to phenol decreased more strongly compared with those under nutrient limitation. Oxygen in excess resulted in a significant increase of cell tolerance toward phenol. The presence of essential nutrients increased the specific phenol degradation rate and led to complete phenol oxidation.

The start-up period of styrene degrading biofilters

Styrene vapors from contaminated air were eliminated using long-term adapted mixed microbial culture inoculated on four perlite packed biofilters (serial arrangement, up-flow configuration). During start-up the inlet concentration of styrene rose from 175 to 1300 mg/m3 of total carbon. The total actual residence time in the four biofilters was 24 s. Styrene was successfully degraded by the microbial population in the biofilter. An average of 66% of eliminated styrene was transformed to CO2. The removal efficiency of the pollutant was, after 18 d of start-up, nearly 85% at an organic load of 170 g/m3 per h. The concentration profiles along the bed height were linear for various pollutant inlet concentrations. The total amount of microorganisms in analyzed biomass from the biofilters was about 10(9) per gram of dry packing mass. The moisture content was around 80% in all biofilters.