Elimination of chlorobenzene vapors from air in a compost‐based biofilter

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the removal of monochlorobenzene (CB) vapors from air was studied, for the first time, in a non‐inoculated, laboratory‐scale, aerobic biofilter. The influence of three parameters on the bioprocess has been evaluated: the rate of nitrogen supplied to the bed, the inlet concentration of CB, and the flow rate. The CB inlet concentration was varied between 0.3 and 3.2 g m −3 , at a constant flow rate of 1.0 m 3 h −1 . Removal rates of greater than 90% were achieved for CB inlet concentrations of up to 1.2 g m −3 . Then the flow rate was varied from 0.5 to 3.0 m 3 h −1 with a constant inlet concentration (1.2 g m −3 ). Maximum elimination capacities (70 g m −3 h −1 ) were reached for contact times of greater than 60 s. The study of varying flow rates also permitted evaluation of a first order macrokinetic constant (1.1 × 10 −2 s −1 ) for the CB biodegradation. Finally, the optimum nitrogen input value was found to lie between 0.3 and 0.4 g N h −1 and gave rise to elimination capacities as high as 70 g m −3 h −1 for an inlet load of near 80 g m −3 h −1 . Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry