BIOFILTRATION AS AN AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL TECHNOLOGY FOR VOLATILE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
AM Zakareia
Department of Occupational Health,
High Institute of Public Health
FM Nofal
Department of Occupational Health,
High Institute of Public Health
Alexandria University, Alexandria, EGYPT
ABSTRACT
Biofiltration is a relatively recent simple and
cheap air pollution control (APC) technology.
The objective of this work was to study benzene
biofiltration in a laboratory scale biofilter. All
operating parameters, eg., gas inlet
concentration, contaminant loading rate, gas
residence time and temperature, were studied and
optimized for maximum removal efficiency.
Removal efficiencies > 95% at inlet
concentration up to 2.5g/m3 and residence times
up to 1.5 minutes were attained. The biofilter bed
has achieved elimination capacities up to 115
g/m3 h. The results have revealed that
biofiltration is a promising and applicable
technology for air pollution control.
KEYWORDS
Air Pollution Control, Biological Treatment,
Biofiltration.
1 INTRODUCTION
Biofiltration is, universally, a relatively recent air
pollution control (APC) technology. However, it
is a well-established technique of wastewater
treatment from several decades. [1] It is almost an
ignored APC technique in developing countries.
Its main principle is passing flue gases
containing biodegradable volatile organic
compounds (VOC) or inorganic air toxics
through a biologically active material. Control
efficiencies more than 90 percent have been
achieved for many common air pollutants. Due
to lower operating costs, biofiltration can
provide significant economic advantages over
MA Zytoon
Department of Occupational Health,
High Institute of Public Health
AO Farag
Ex. Prof., Chemical Engineering Dept.,
Faculty of Engineering.
other APC technologies if applied to off-gases
that contain readily biodegradable pollutants in
low concentrations. [2] Environmental benefits
include low energy requirements and the
avoidance of cross media transfer of pollutants.
Faith et al [3] and Bohn [4] compared between
biofiltration and other conventional APC
methods from a cost standpoint. They concluded
that construction cost per cfm for biofilters is
fairly lower. As for operating costs, biofilters
cost is slightly above zero per cfm if compared
to other methods.
A biofilter for control of air pollutants consists of
one or more beds of biologically active material,
primarily mixtures based on compost, peat or
soil. [1] The microorganisms, filter medium, and
contaminant biodegradability are the main
influencing factors, whereas, concentration and
flow rate of influent, superficial velocity,
retention time, elimination capacity and
efficiency, temperature, pH, bed humidity,
besides acclimation period are the predominant
operating conditions. [2,5,6]
Benzene, a confirmed carcinogen, is a
representative of VOC’s. It is used as a solvent
in many industries, beside its role in
photochemical reactions. The present work is a
unique and pioneer study and is the base stone of
applying biofiltration as an APC technology in
Egypt. The major objective of the present paper
is to introduce the basic conceptual design
parameters and operation conditions of benzene
biofiltration in a compost biofilter
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
In the present work, the biofilter was operated 7
to 9 hours daily for about 9 months. Shutdowns
of the biofilter included nights, weekends, 2.4 Measurement of benzene concentration:
holidays, and maintenance periods. The
following are the main features of the The concentration of benzene vapor in the inlet
experimental work. and outlet streams was measured by an infrared
gas analyzer (Miran 1A-IR gas analyzer,
2.1 Biofilter media Foxboro Wilks) at a wave length of 9.9 μm and a
path length of 15.75 m. The detection limit was 3
The biofilter medium was animal-waste based ppmv.
compost. Fresh animal waste (mainly cow and
horse manure) was exposed to air with periodical 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
stirring for about two weeks. Composting was
completed inside the biofilter. The physical Results of benzene biofiltration in a compost
properties of the filter bed material are biofilter are presented and interpreted using
summarized in Table 1. process kinetics, in order to determine the
optimum operating and economic parameters.
Table (1): Physical Properties of Filter Bed.
3.1 Effect of Benzene Inlet Concentration:
Property Value
The impact of benzene concentration in the
Particle size:
influent stream at different residence times on
d ≤ 0.75 mm 32.5 %
the removal efficiency is shown in Fig.3. It
0.75 < d ≤ 2.0 mm 50 %
shows an inverse relationship between benzene
d > 2.0 mm 17.5 %
concentration and removal efficiency. However,
Bulk density:
the rate of decrease in the removal efficiency
Dry material 185 kg/m3
increases as the residence time (EBCT)
53% water content 428 kg/m3
decreases. At EBCTs of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 min, the
True density:
biofilter achieved removal efficiencies higher
Dry material 1090 kg/m3
than 95% at inlet concentrations up to 0.33, 1.25
53% water content 1070 kg/m3
and 2.50 g/m3 respectively, indicating that higher
Porosity:
concentrations of benzene required longer
Dry material 0.83
residence times to achieve equivalent high
53% water content 0.60
removal efficiencies.
Specific surface area 12000 m2/m3
Water content 50-60% wt.
3.2 Effect of Benzene Loading Rate
pH 7±0.5
Loading rate (g/m3.h) is the mass of pollutant
2.2 The biofilter
introduced to the biofilter per cubic meter of the
filter bed per hour, whereas the elimination
The biofilter column was constructed from
capacity (g/m3.h) is the amount of pollutant that
perspex glass (Fig.1).The column has four a cubic meter of the bed can remove per hour.
sampling ports at different latitudes (15, 28, 45
The effect of loading rate was studied at EBCTs
and 58 cm). The column diameter is 15 cm and it of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 min, which correspond to
was filled with the compost to a height of 70 cm.
superficial gas velocities of 82.8, 41.4 and 27.6
The bed was supported by a perforated plate to m/h, respectively.
ensure homogeneous distribution of the influent
Fig.4 shows that the elimination capacity
stream across the face of the bed. increased as the loading rate increased. However,
at a specific loading rate (depending on the
2.3 Benzene generation system: EBCT) the elimination capacity sharply
decreased as the loading rate was increased. This
The experimental system used for generation of point is referred to as the maximum elimination
benzene-air mixture into the biofilter is shown in
capacity of the bed. Fig.4 shows also that the
Fig.2. The desired benzene concentration is biofilter bed achieved maximum elimination
prepared by manipulation of the two valves in
capacities of 99 and 115 g/m3.h at EBCTs of 1.0
system. The stream is humidified to a relative and 1.5, min, respectively. These two elimination
humidity of more than 95% by passing through a
capacities were achieved at loading rates of 121
water bubbler. and 146 g/m3.h, respectively. At higher loading
rates inhibition of the resident microorganisms
occurred because of the accumulation of much
amounts of the pollutant into the biofilm, which
could be toxic to the microorganisms.
The above mentioned loading rates correspond to
benzene inlet concentrations of 2.02 and 3.65
g/m3, respectively, and the removal efficiencies
were 82 and 79%, respectively. The biofilter,
thereby, emitted benzene concentrations of 0.364
and 0.767 g/m3 at those two loads, respectively,
which represent concentrations higher than the
maximum emission level permitted by the
Egyptian environmental law No.4/1994
(0.05g/m3). Consequently, the maximum
elimination capacity of the bed shouldn’t be
taken as the sole design parameter.
The maximum elimination capacity obtained in
this study (115 g/m3.h) is considered high
compared to elimination capacities of many
other media used for removing aromatic
pollutants and reported by Kennes and Thalasso.
[7]
3.3 Effect of Residence Time
The effect of residence time (EBCT) on the
removal efficiency of the bed is shown in Figs.5-
7 for inlet concentrations of 0.641, 1.282 and
1.923 g/m3, respectively. As might be expected
for all inlet concentrations, the removal
efficiency of the biofilter would increase as the
EBCT increases. This can be easily explained by
the two steps involved in the process; mass
transfer and biodegradation. The effective
diffusivity of benzene in the biofilm is very low,
so a long period of time is required for complete
diffusion. On the other hand, biological reactions
are slow in nature and require a long time for
complete conversion.
Figs.5-7 show that 100% removal efficiency was
achieved at EBCTs of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 min at
inlet concentrations of 0.641, 1.282 and 1.923
g/m3, respectively. However, there should be an
optimum gas residence time to meet both the
regulation requirements and spending less capital
and operating costs. The environmental
regulations allow for a maximum emission level
of 0.05 g/m3 of benzene. This implies that
minimum removal efficiencies of 92.2, 96.0 and
97.4% are required at inlet concentrations of
0.641, 1.282 and 1.923. g/m3 , respectively.
These minimum removal efficiencies were
obtained at EBCTs of 0.65, 1.25 and 1.4 min,
respectively, as obtained by interpolation from
Figs.5-7.
The above mentioned data were used to
construct a curve relating the minimum required
EBCT to the inlet concentration, as shown in
Fig.8. This figure may be used for determining
the minimum acceptable EBCT required for
meeting environmental regulations at any inlet
concentration to the biofilter used in this work.
For economic consideration, a similar curve was
constructed relating the maximum economic
EBCT to the inlet concentration of benzene. The
maximum economic EBCT was defined as the
minimum EBCT that achieves 100% removal of
benzene. EBCTs longer than the maximum
economic EBCT result in additional capital cost
due to construction of oversized biofilters.
3.4 Effect of Temperature
The effect of temperature on the performance of
the biofilter was studied by heating the inlet air
stream. Since the biofilter was operated about 7-
9 hours daily, it never achieved uniform
temperature. A temperature gradient existed.
Therefore, the effect of temperature was studied
by considering each section of the bed
separately. The inlet air stream was heated to
temperatures of 31.5, 49, 58 and 65 0C. At each
inlet temperature, the average temperature of
each section in the bed, and the inlet and outlet
concentration of each section were measured.
Then, the elimination capacity of each bed
section was determined as related to the average
temperature. The results are presented in Fig.9,
which shows that high elimination capacities
were achieved at a temperature range of 31- 43
0
C with highest values at 35- 40 0C. This
indicates that the resident microorganisms were
of the mesophilic type, which grow best at a
temperature range of 25-40 0C with maximum
activity at 37 0C. [8]
3.5 Effect of Shutdown Periods
When the biofilter was shutdown for certain
periods of time and then restarted, the existing
microorganisms required a period of time to
reach their maximum activity again. This period
is called “reacclimation period”. The effect of
shutdown periods on the reacclimation periods of
microorganisms is presented in Table 2. It is
clear from the table that the reacclimation period
increased after longer shutdown periods. It is
clear also that the reacclimation periods were
dependent on the inlet concentration of benzene
and on the gas velocity (or EBCT).
 Table 2: Effect of Shutdown Periods on the Reacclimation Period of Microorganisms
Shutdown Period Inlet concentration <1.6 g/m3
EBCT =1.0 and 1.5 min
16 hours 0.5 – 1.0 hour
40 hours 1.5 – 2.5 hours
64 hours 4 – 5 hours
240 hours (10 days) 16 hours
The biofilter was operated 7-9 hours daily, thus a
daily shutdown period of about 16 hours was
involved. After this period the microorganisms
required a period of about 0.5 – 1.0 hour to
degrade benzene at the highest biodegradation
rate at the prevailing conditions. This period was
observed where the EBCT was 1.0 and 1.5 min
and the concentration of benzene was less than
1.6 g/m3. At higher concentrations and/ or
shorter EBCTs, longer reacclimation periods
were required to reach the maximum removal
efficiency. The reacclimation periods obtained in
this study were similar to those obtained by
Martin and Loeher. [9]
The reacclimation period is important as it
represents the length of period during which the
biofilter emits pollutant concentration higher
than the environmental regulations permit.
Therefore, it should be as short as possible. This
can be achieved by shortening shutdown periods.
In fact, this problem is not found in plants
operating continuously with rare shutdowns.
3.6 Pressure Drop across the Bed
Pressure drop across the bed is an important item
in determining operating costs. Higher pressure
drop results in more power consumption.
Pressure drop was measured at various gas
velocities both at the start of operation and after
4 months of operation to determine the effect of
long term operation. Fig.10 shows that the
pressure drop increased at high gas velocities
(short EBCTs). Furthermore, at a specific gas
velocity (or EBCT), pressure drop across the bed
increased after four months rather than at the
start by a factor of 1.8 as revealed by the slopes
of the two lines of Fig.10.
At a commonly used EBCT of 1.0 min
(superficial gas velocity of 0.0167 m/s), pressure
drop through the bed increased from 213 Pa/m
(0.86 inch water/m) at the start to a value of 386
Pa/m (1.55 inch water/m) after 4 months. This
increase in pressure drop is considered to be
Reacclimation Period
Inlet concentration >1.6
g/m3 EBCT < 1.0 min
1 – 2 hours
2 – 4 hours
5 – 7 hours
Not determined
small representing an insignificant increase in
power consumption. Yang and Allen [10] reported
that at a value of 2500 Pa/m the bed needs to be
repacked or the compost replaced.
Pressure drop of the compost used in this study
was low compared to the activated carbon
medium used by Barkley et al [11] for toluene
removal. They reported pressure drop values
equivalent to 9-27 inch water/m (2240-6724
Pa/m) within a period of 4 months because of
biomass build up.
Power requirements can be estimated by using
pressure drop results (power = flow rate ×
pressure drop) [12]. At EBCT of 1.0 min and after
4 months, pressure drop was found to be 386
Pa/m. This value is equivalent to about 6.4 W
per m3/min (or 0.182 W per cfm). This value is
small compared to that reported by Bohn [4] for
wet chemical scrubbing (1 W per cfm) and soil
beds (0.6 W per cfm). This provides evidence
that biofiltration has the advantage of low energy
requirements.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Aromatic compounds, such as benzene could be
removed from air streams in biofilters with
animal-waste compost as filter medium. Benzene
concentrations up to 4.25 g/m3 were removed in
the biofilter with removal efficiencies depending
on the residence time. Higher concentrations
required longer residence times.
At a specific residence time, Inhibition of
microorganism in the compost bed occured and
the removal capacity of the bed sharply
decreased. In application, the loading rates to the
biofilter shouldn’t exceed that maximum load.
Moreover, the resident microorganisms in the
bed were of the mesophilic type, which makes it
necessary that the inlet temperature to the bed
shouldn’t exceed 40 oC.
Pressure drop across the biofilter bed was small
as compared to conventional APC methods. This
finding, along with minimum or no chemical
consumption prove the advantage of low
operating costs in biofilters. In conclusion,
biofiltration is a cost-effective way for air
pollution control besides being competitive to
other methods.
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