Biofiltration of toluene using wood charcoal as the biofilter media.
A laboratory scale biofilter inoculated with Pseudomonas putida (MTCC 102) was used for degradation of toluene present in air. Wood charcoal was used as the filter media and a layer of glass beads (6mm) was used for improved air distribution. The biofilter was operated continuously for a period of 5months at four different flow rates - 0.06, 0.12, 0.18, and 0.24m(3)h(-1), with inlet concentration of toluene ranging from 0.04 to 4.5gm(-3). Air having toluene vapor was fed to the biofilter at various loadings ranging from 30.6 to 1104.5gm(-3)h(-1). The removal efficiency was obtained in the range of 70-99.5%. The maximum elimination capacity of 872.5gm(-3)h(-1) was observed at the inlet load of 1104.5gm(-3)h(-1). Wood charcoal was found to an effective biofilter media for toluene biodegradation.
Centre of Advanced Study, Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, UP, India.
Kiran
K
Singh
R S
RS
Singh
B N
BN
Rai
S N
SN
Upadhyay
D000327:Adsorption; D002606:Charcoal; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods*; D014050:Toluene / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014934:Wood
D002606:Charcoal; D014050:Toluene