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Biodegradation of a Ternary Mixture of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic VOCs in Trickle Bed Air Biofilters

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Abstract

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the degradation of a ternary mixture of n-hexane, benzene, and methanol fed to two Trickle Bed Air Biofilters (TBABs) designated as “A” and “B”. Both TBABs were loaded with pelletized diatomaceous earth support media and run at an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 120 s. TBABs “A” and “B” were operated at pH 4 and fed with n-hexane:benzene:methanol (CH:CB:CM) concentrations ratios of 1:3:10 and 1:3:6.6, respectively under different loading rates. The influent total loading rates varied from 39.2 to 117.7 g/m3h and from 32 to 96.4 g/m3h for TBABs “A” and “B”, respectively. In both TBABs, methanol and benzene were the most eliminated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), while the removal of n-hexane was controlled by the VOCs ratios. Higher removal efficiencies were obtained for the VOCs ratio of 1:3:6.6 corresponding to a total VOCs load of 96.4 g/m3h. The addition of VOCs mixture to the TBABs resulted in change of the fungi community within the TBABs as compared to the fungi community when the TBABs were previously receiving only n-hexane as a sole substrate.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support from National Science Foundation under award number CBET 0852803. The finding and conclusions expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessary reflect the views of the Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical, Chemical, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Cincinnati, 2901 Woodside Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45221-0012, USA

    Abderrahman Zehraoui, David Wendell & George A. Sorial

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  1. Abderrahman Zehraoui
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  2. David Wendell
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  3. George A. Sorial
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Correspondence to George A. Sorial.

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Zehraoui, A., Wendell, D. & Sorial, G.A. Biodegradation of a Ternary Mixture of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic VOCs in Trickle Bed Air Biofilters. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 2075 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2075-x

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