title: Relationships between biomass, pressure drop, and performance in a polyurethane biofilter.
abstract: In biofilters for controlling volatile organic compounds (VOCs), clogging in the filter bed due to overgrowth of biomass causes the deterioration of biofilter performance. In this study, the relationships between biofilter performance, biomass concentration (X), and pressure drop (DeltaP) was qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated in a polyurethane (PU) biofilter. Benzene was used as a model VOC. The relationship between DeltaP and X at a moisture content of 80-90% was expressed as log DeltaP (mm H(2)Om(-1))=0.315+3.87 log X (g-dry cell weight (DCW) g-PU(-1)), 0.8<X<2.5. Maximum removal rate (V(m)) for benzene declined with increasing biomass concentration at more than 0.8 g-DCW g-PU(-1), and the following equation was obtained: V(m) (gm(-3)h(-1))=811-261 X (g-DCW g-PU(-1)), 0.8<X<2.5. The quantitative relationships obtained in this study can be applied to assess and optimize PU biofilter performance for long-term operation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Soongsil University, Seoul 156-743, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.forename: Kyung-Suk
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Dong Jin
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D001554:Benzene / Q000737:chemistry; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005374:Filtration; D007700:Kinetics; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D011140:Polyurethanes; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D001554:Benzene