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 other APC technologies if
MA Zytoon
Department of Occupational Health,
High Institute of Public Health
AO Farag
Ex. Prof., Chemical Engineering Dept.,
Faculty of Engineering.
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, holidays,
and maintenance periods. The following are the
main features of the experimental work.
2.1 Biofilter media
The biofilter medium was animal-waste based
compost. Fresh animal waste (mainly cow and
horse manure) was exposed to air with periodical
stirring for about two weeks. Composting was
completed inside the biofilter. The physical
properties of the filter bed material are
summarized in Table 1.
Table (1): Physical Properties of Filter Bed.
The concentration of benzene vapor in the inlet
and outlet streams was measured by an infrared
gas analyzer (Miran 1A-IR gas analyzer, Foxboro
Wilks) at a wave length of 9.9 μm and a path
length of 15.75 m. The detection limit was 3
ppmv.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results of benzene biofiltration in a compost
biofilter are presented and interpreted using
process kinetics, in order to determine the
optimum operating and economic parameters.

Property Value 3.1 Effect of Benzene Inlet Concentration:

Particle size: The impact of benzene concentration in the
d ≤ 0.75 mm 32.5 % influent stream at different residence times on the
0.75 < d ≤ 2.0 mm 50 % removal efficiency is shown in Fig.3. It shows an
d > 2.0 mm 17.5 % inverse relationship between benzene
Bulk density: concentration and removal efficiency. However,
Dry material 185 kg/m3 the rate of decrease in the removal efficiency
53% water content 428 kg/m3 increases as the residence time (EBCT) decreases.
True density:
At EBCTs of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 min, the biofilter
Dry material 1090 kg/m3 achieved removal efficiencies higher than 95% at
53% water content 1070 kg/m3 inlet concentrations up to 0.33, 1.25 and 2.50 g/m3
Porosity: respectively, indicating that higher concentrations
Dry material 0.83 of benzene required longer residence times to
53% water content 0.60 achieve equivalent high 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 a
perspex glass (Fig.1).The column has four cubic meter of the bed can remove per hour. The
sampling ports at different latitudes (15, 28, 45 effect of loading rate was studied at EBCTs of 0.5,
and 58 cm). The column diameter is 15 cm and it 1.0 and 1.5 min, which correspond to superficial
was filled with the compost to a height of 70 cm. gas velocities of 82.8, 41.4 and 27.6 m/h,
The bed was supported by a perforated plate to 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
2.4 Measurement of benzene concentration:
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 0C 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
0
C 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

Reacclimation Period
Shutdown Period Inlet concentration <1.6 g/m3 Inlet concentration >1.6
EBCT =1.0 and 1.5 min g/m3 EBCT < 1.0 min
16 hours 0.5 – 1.0 hour 1 – 2 hours
40 hours 1.5 – 2.5 hours 2 – 4 hours
64 hours 4 – 5 hours 5 – 7 hours
240 hours (10 days) 16 hours Not determined

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.
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

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 small
representing an insignificant increase in power
consumption. Yang and Allen [10] reported that at
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
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