Treatment of mixtures of toluene and n-propanol vapours in a compost-woodchip-based biofilter

• Published in: Environmental technology Vol. 33; no. 7; pp. 751 - 760
• Main Authors: Dixit, R. M., Deshmukh, S. C., Gadhe, A. A., Kannade, G. S., Lokhande, S. K., Pandey, R. A., Vaidya, A. N., Mudliar, S. N., Deshusses, M. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01-04-2012; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 1-Propanol - chemistry; Air Pollutants - chemistry; Air Pollution - prevention & control; Applied sciences; biofiltration; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Chemical engineering; compost-woodchip; Computer Simulation; dynamic modelling; Exact sciences and technology; Filtration - methods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; kinetic parameter; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Models, Chemical; n-propanol; Others; Pollution; Reactors; toluene; Toluene - chemistry; Various methods and equipments; Volatile Organic Compounds - chemistry; Waste Management - methods; British Isles; Compost; compost—woodchip; Toluene; dynamic modelling; Hydrophobic compound; Volatile organic compound; Modeling; n-propanol; Biological purification; Bioreactor; Loading; Aromatic compound; Hydrophilic compound; Kinetic parameter; Biofilter; Dynamic model; biofiltration; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0959-3330; 1479-487X
• DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2011.592226

The present work describes the biofiltration of mixture of n-propanol (as a model hydrophilic volatile organic compound (VOC)) and toluene (as a model hydrophobic VOC) in a biofilter packed with a compost-woodchip mixture. Initially, the biofilter was fed with toluene vapours at loadings up to 175 g m
−3
 h
−1
and removal efficiencies of 70%-99% were observed. The biofilter performance when removing mixtures of toluene and n-propanol reached elimination capacities of up to 67 g
toluene
 m
−3
 h
−1
and 85 g
n− propanol
 m
−3
 h
−1
with removal efficiencies of 70%-100% for toluene and essentially 100% for n-propanol. The presence of high n-propanol loading negatively affected the toluene removal; however, n-propanol removal was not affected by the presence of toluene and was effectively removed in the biofilter despite high toluene loadings. A model for toluene and n-propanol biofiltration could predict the cross-inhibition effect of n-propanol on toluene removal.