Comparison of Continuous and Sequencing Batch Operated Biofilters for Treatment of Gas-Phase Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Abstract

Although biofiltration has been used successfully to remove and biodegrade a wide variety of gas-phase organic contaminants generated by industrial facilities and environmental remediation efforts, the ability of conventional biofilters to maintain high removal efficiency during short-term, unsteady-state, elevated loading conditions is limited. A promising alternative for improving biofilter performance during transient elevated loading conditions while minimizing the disadvantages of conventional treatment technologies is utilization of adsorption packing media and implementation of sequencing batch operating strategies. In the studies described herein, a continuous-flow biofilter (CFB) and a sequencing batch biofilter (SBB) were operated for more than 300 days to treat a methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) contaminated gas stream. The packing medium for both biofilters consisted of activated carbon coated polyurethane foam cubes. Both biofilters exhibited stable long-term performance with greater than 99% removal of the influent