Effect of operating temperature on transient behaviour of a biofilter treating waste-air containing n-butanol vapour during intermittent loading.
Transient-state removal of n-butanol vapour was investigated in a biofilter (BF) packed with compost and lava rock at different operating temperatures in the range of 30-45°C under intermittent loading (8 h per day). Adsorption on the inactive bed and biodegradation in the microbial-active bed were studied separately at an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 1 min and inlet concentrations of 2.6-3.2 g m(-3), respectively. According to the transient experiments, the highest removal efficiency (RE) around 86% was obtained at 40°C due to a high microbial activity. Comparison of CO2 production and pure adsorption of n-butanol showed that adsorption was the major mechanism in the start-up of BF at each operating condition; although the impact of adsorption declined as temperature increased from 30°C to 45°C. The process was reaction limited at all operating conditions. Based on the determination of stoichiometric coefficients of n-butanol biodegradation, the CO2 production level was significantly lower than that of the chemical oxidation process which resulted in a decrease in environmental pollution.
a Chemical Engineering Department, Shahrood Branch , Islamic Azad University , Shahrood , Iran.
Farzaneh
F
Feizi
b Chemical Engineering Department , Amirkabir University of Technology , Tehran , Iran.
Bahram
B
Nasernejad
c Biotechnology Group, Faculty of Chemical Engineering , Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran , Iran.
Seyed Morteza
SM
Zamir
D020001:1-Butanol / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000327:Adsorption; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D005374:Filtration / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013696:Temperature; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014835:Volatilization; D018505:Waste Management / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
D000393:Air Pollutants; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D020001:1-Butanol
Biofilter; intermittent loading; n-butanol; temperature; transient-state