title: Biofiltration of a mixture of ethylene, ammonia, n-butanol, and acetone gases.
abstract: This study describes cleaning of a waste gas stream using bench scale biofilters (BFs) or biotrickling filters (BTFs). The gas stream contained a mixture of acetone, n-butanol, methane, ethylene, and ammonia, and was diverted uniformly to six biofilters and four biotrickling filters. The biofilters were packed with either perlite (BF-P), polyurethane foam (BF-F), or a mixture of compost, wood chips, and straw (BF-C), whereas the biotrickling filters contained either perlite (BTF-P) or polyurethane foam (BTF-F). Experimental results showed that both BFs and BTFs packed with various media were able to achieve complete removal of highly soluble compounds such as acetone, n-butanol, and ammonia of which the dimensionless Henry's constants (H) are less than 0.01. Methane was not removed due to its extreme insolubility (H>30). However, the ethylene (H ≈ 9) removal efficiencies depended on trickle water flow rates, media surface areas, and ammonia gas levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors.forename: Sang-Hun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Congna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Albert J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Heber
authors.forename: Jiqin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D020001:1-Butanol / Q000378:metabolism; D000096:Acetone / Q000378:metabolism; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D019149:Bioreactors; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D005374:Filtration / Q000379:methods*; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism; D011140:Polyurethanes; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014934:Wood
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005030:Ethylenes; D011140:Polyurethanes; D012722:Sewage; C003076:Perlite; D000096:Acetone; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D000641:Ammonia; D020001:1-Butanol; C028279:polyurethane foam; C036216:ethylene; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D008697:Methane