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Biofiltration of toluene in the absence and the presence of ethyl acetate under continuous and intermittent loading
Author(s) -
ÁlvarezHornos F Javier,
Gabaldón Carmen,
MartínezSoria Vicente,
Marzal Paula,
Penyaroja JosepManuel
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.1843
Subject(s) - biofilter , toluene , chemistry , acclimatization , ethyl acetate , ethanol , pollutant , chromatography , biomass (ecology) , zoology , environmental engineering , organic chemistry , environmental science , botany , biology , ecology
BACKGROUND: Two peat biofilters were used for the removal of toluene from air for one year. One biofilter was fed with pure toluene and the other received 1:1 (by weight) ethyl acetate:toluene mixture. RESULTS: The biofilters were operated under continuous loading: the toluene inlet load (IL) at which 80% removal occurred was 116 g m −3 h −1 at 57 s gas residence time. Maximum elimination capacity of 360 g m −3 h −1 was obtained at an IL of 745 g m −3 h −1 . The elimination of toluene was inhibited by the presence of ethyl acetate. Intermittent loading, with pollutants supplied for 16 h/day, 5 days/week, did not significantly affect the removal efficiency (RE). Biomass was fully activated in 2 h after night closures, but 6 h were required to recover RE after weekend closures. Live cell density remained relatively constant over the operational period, while the dead cell fraction increased. Finally, a 15 day starvation period was applied and operation then re‐started. Performance was restored with similar re‐acclimatization period to that after weekend closures, and a reduction in dead cell fraction was observed. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the capacity of the system to handle intermittent loading conditions that are common in industrial practices, including long‐term starvation. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry