Transient Response of Flow-Direction-Switching Vapor-Phase Biofilters
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 7
Abstract
Transient loading of vapor-phase biofilters may result in exceedence of the local reaction or mass transfer capacity of the inlet region. In such cases, higher concentrations of contaminants are carried deeper into the bed where there is less active biomass and, in some cases, breakthrough of contaminants may occur. Previous studies have demonstrated that periodic reversal of the flow direction results in improved transient-loading response. However, quantitative information on the extent of the benefit is lacking. Step function increases in toluene concentration were applied to unidirectional-flow and flow-direction-switching laboratory reactors operated in parallel. Contaminant concentration was monitored at several points along the packed beds. Relative to unidirectional mode of operation, periodic flow reversal produced a more uniform distribution of microbial reaction capacity along the length of the packed bed. Directional switching at a interval did not result in a loss of activity or removal capacity. Mass-removal rates under transient-loading conditions were similar in the first-half of both biofilters but, in the second-half of the units, significant removals were observed only in the flow-direction-switching biofilter. As a result, maximum mass-removal rates under transient-loading conditions were approximately twice as great for the flow-direction-switching biofilter relative to the conventional unidirectional-flow biofilter receiving similar mass loading.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
Contributors to this project include Professor K. M. Scow of the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, and J. Mehlschau and the College of Engineering Shop at the University of California, Davis. Financial support was provided by the University of California, Davis, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Grant No. G6J10677 from the exploratory research program).
References
Al-Rayes, A. W., Kinney, K. A., Seibert, A. F., and Corsi, R. L. (2001). “Load dampening system for vapor phase bioreactors.” J. Environ. Eng., 127(3), 224–232.
Campbell, H. J., and Connor, M. A. (1997). “Practical experience with an industrial biofilter treating solvent vapour loads of varying magnitude and composition.” Pure Appl. Chem., 69(11), 2411–2424.
Damborosky, J., Damborska, M., and Pistek, V. (1999). “Sporulation as an effective strategy for the survival of bacteria in a biofilter with discontinuous operation.” Biotechnol. Lett., 21, 835–838.
Deshusses, M. A. (1995). “Operation of compost-based biofilters under transient and multiple VOC conditions.” Proc., 1995 Conf. on Biofiltration, Univ. of Southern California and the Reynolds Group, Tustin, Calif., 45–52.
Deshusses, M. A., Cox, H. H. J., Schroeder, E. D., and Converse, B. M. (2001). “Advances in gas phase emissions reduction and/or control.” Final Report, Project 98-CTS-4, Water Environment Research Foundation, Alexandria, Va.
Deshusses, M. A., Hamer, G., and Dunn, I. J. (1995). “Behavior of biofilter for waste air biotreatment. II. Experimental evaluation of a dynamic model.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 29, 1059–1068.
Deshusses, M. A., Hamer, G., and Dunn, I. J. (1996). “Transient-state behavior of biofilter removing mixtures of vapors of MEK and MIBK from air.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 49, 587–598.
Ergas, S. J., Schroeder, E. D., Chang, D. P. Y., and Morton, R. (1995a). “Control of VOC emissions from a POTW using a compost biofilter.” Water Environ. Res., 67(5), 816–821.
Ergas, S. J., Schroeder, E. D., Chang, D. P. Y., and Scow, K. M. (1994). “Spatial distribution of microbial populations in biofilters.” Proc., 87th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Air & Waste Management Association, Cincinnati.
Ergas, S. J., et al. (1995b). “Biodegradation technology for VOC removal from airstreams Phase II: Determination of process design parameters and constraints.” Final Report, Prepared for California Air Resources Board, Research Division (Contract No. 92-304) Univ. of California, Davis.
Hodge, D. S., and Divinney, J. S. (1995). “Modeling removal of air contaminants by biofiltration.” J. Environ. Eng., 121(1), 21–32.
Irvine, R. L., and Moe, W. M. (2001). “Period biofilter operation for enhanced performance during unsteady-state loading conditions.” Water Sci. Technol., 43(3), 231–239.
Kinney, K. A. (1996). “Spatial distribution of biomass and activity in a directionally-switching biofilter.” PhD dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of California, Davis.
Kirchner, K., Wagner, S., and Rehm, H. J. (1994). “Biological purification of waste gases by means of immobilized bacteria (monocultures).” Proc., 87th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Air and Waste Management Association, Cincinnati.
Leson, G., and Winer, A. M. (1991). “Biofiltration: An innovative air pollution control technology for VOC emissions.” J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 41(8), 1045–1054.
Marek, J., Paca, J., and Gerrard, A. M. (2000). “Dynamic responses to changes in operating conditions in the process of removing toluene and xylene from air.” Acta Biotechnologica, 20(1), 17–29.
Martin, F. J., and Loehr, R. C. (1996). “Effect of periods of non-use on biofilter performance.” J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 46, 539–546.
Métris, A., Gerrard, A. M., Cumming, R. H., Weigner, P., and Paca, J. (2001). “Modelling shock loadings and starvation in the biofiltration of toluene and xylene.” J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol., 76, 565–572.
Moe, W. M., and Irvine, R. L. (2001). “Effect of nitrogen limitation on performance of toluene degrading biofilters.” Water Res., 35(6), 1407–1414.
Mysliwiec, M. J., Vander Gheynst, J. S., Rashid, M. M., and Schroeder, E. D. (2001). “Dynamic volume-averaged model of heat and mass transport within a compost biofilter: I. Model development.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 73(4), 282–294.
Park, J., and Kinney, K. A. (2001). “Evaluation of a slip feed system for vapor phase bioreactors.” J. Environ. Eng., 127(11), 979–985.
Parks, C. B., and Loehr, R. C. (1994). “Biofilter design for VOC remediation.” Proc., 1994 Conf. Petroleum Hydrocarbons And Organic Chemicals In Groundwater Prevention, Detection, and Remediation, National Groundwater Association and American Petroleum Institute, Houston.
Schroeder, E. D. (2002). “Trends in application of gas-phase bioreactors.” Re/Views in Environmental Science and Bio/Technol., 1(1), 65–74.
Schroeder, E. D., Eweis, J. B., Chang, D. P. Y., and Veir, J. K. (2000). “Biodegradation of recalcitrant compounds.” Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 123, 133–146.
Seed, L. P., and Corsi, R. L. (1994). “Biofiltration of BTEX-contaminated gas streams; laboratory studies.” Proc., 87th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, Air and Waste Management Association, Cincinnati.
Shi, J., et al. (1995). “Simulation of steady state and dynamic loading of a coating process VOC (ethylacetate); treatment by engineered media biofiltration.” Proc., 1995 Conf. on Biofiltration, Univ. Southern California and the Reynolds Group, Tustin, Calif., 151–164.
Song, J., and Kinney, K. A. (2000). “Effect of vapor-phase bioreactor operation on biomass accumulation, distribution, and activity: Linking biofilm properties to bioreactor performance.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 68(5), 508–516.
Song, J., and Kinney, K. A. (2001). “Effect of directional switching frequency on toluene degradation in a vapor-phase bioreactor.” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 56, 108–113.
South Coast Air Quality Management District. (1994). “Report on the survey of some wood furniture stripping facilities.” South Coast Air Quality Management District, Diamond Bar, Calif.
Tang, H. M., and Hwang, S. J. (1997). “Transient behavior of the biofilters for toluene removal.” J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 47, 1142–1151.
Tang, H. M., Hwang, S. J., and Hwang, S. C. (1995). “Dynamics of toluene degradation in biofilters.” Hazard. Waste Hazard. Mater., 12(3), 207–219.
Togna, A. P., and Frisch, S. (1993). “Field-pilot study of styrene biodegradation using biofiltration.” Proc., 86th Annual Meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, Cincinnati.
Weber, F. J., and Hartmans, S. (1995). “Use of activated carbon as a buffer in biofiltration of waste gases with fluctuating concentration of toluene.” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 43, 365–369.
Woertz, J. R., Kinney, K. A., McIntosh, N. D. P., and Szaniszlo, P. J. (2001). “Removal of toluene in a vapor-phase bioreactor containing a strain of the dimorphic black yeast exophiala lecanii-corni.” Biotechnol. Bioeng., 75(5), 550–558.
Wright, W. F. (2004). “Transient response of flow-direction-switching biofilters.” Proc., 2004 Conf. Biofiltration for Air Pollution Control, Univ. of Southern California, The USC Center for Sustainable Cities, and the Reynolds Group, Redondo Beach, Calif., J. Devinny, ed., 115–124.
Wright, W. F. (2005). “Transient response of vapor-phase biofilters.” Chem. Eng. J., (accepted).
Wright, W. F., Schroeder, E. D., Chang, D. P. Y. (2005). “Regular transient loading response in a vapor-phase flow-direction-switching biofilter.” J. Environ. Eng., ASCE (accepted).
Wright, W. F., Schroeder, E. D., Chang, D. P. Y., and Romstad, K. (1997). “Performance of a pilot-scale compost biofilter treating gasoline vapor.” J. Environ. Eng., 123(6), 547–555.
Wu, G., et al. (1999). “A high performance biofilter for VOC emission control.” J. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 49, 185–192.
Yang, C., Suidan, M. T., Zhu, X., and Kim, B. J. (2003a). “Biomass accumulation patterns for removing volatile organic compounds in rotating drum biofilters.” Water Sci. Technol., 48(8), 89–96.
Yang, C. P., Suidan, M. T., Zhu, X. Q., and Kim, B. J. (2003b). “Comparison of single-layer and multilayer rotating drum biofilters for VOC removal.” Environ. Prog., 22(2), 87–94.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 7 • July 2005
Pages: 999 - 1009
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 1, 2004
Accepted: Jul 20, 2004
Published online: Jul 1, 2005
Published in print: Jul 2005
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.