Compost liquor results from the percolation of precipitation through composting waste; the release of liquids from high moisture content feedstocks; and as a result of runoff from hard surfaces and machinery. This research aimed to establish the potential for waste materials to act as media for low-cost compost liquor biofilters. Six types of potential biofilter media were packed into experimen...

Abstract. A mobile pilot-scale biofilter testing laboratory, which consisted of oneand two-stage biofilter reactor barrels, was developed where two types of wood chips (western cedar and hard wood) were examined to treat odor emissions from a deep-pit swine finishing facility in central Iowa. The biofilters were operated continuously from July 20 to October 17, 2007 at different air flow rates ...

Mathematical modeling in the biofiltration of volatile organic compounds is a valuable tool for performance prediction and in scaling up. Majority of the published models include parameters obtained from fitting experimental data, thus masking their real influence as they are lumped generally. The present work aims to evaluate experimentally some of the most relevant parameters including kineti...

Bacterial biofilters usually exhibit a high microbial diversity and robustness, while fungal biofilters have been claimed to better withstand low moisture contents and pH values, and to be more efficient coping with hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, there are only few systematic evaluations of both biofiltration technologies. The present study compared fungal and bacterial...

The enrichment of styrene degrading microorganisms from biofilters resulted in a broad range of degrading isolates with unkown in situ relevance. For this reason an in situ labeling of styrene degrading microorganisms using deuterated styrene and phospholipid fatty acids as biomarkers prior to the isolation approach was performed. By this method the fatty acid profiles of the primary styrene de...

Air biofiltration is a promising technology for control of air emissions of biodegradable volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In conjunction with vacuum extraction of soils or air stripping of ground water, it can be used to mineralize VOCs removed from contaminated soil or groundwater. The literature (1) describes three major biological systems for treating contaminated air bioscrubbers, biotri...

A continuous flow filtration system was designed to identify and quantify the removal mechanisms of Cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa) by hydroponic biofilters Phalaris arundinacea compared synthetic filters. The units were continuously fed under plug-flow conditions with Microcystis grown in photobioreactors. cells decreased at two rates studied (1.2 ± 0.2 54 ± 3 cm3 minˉ1) results suggest...

To maintain function in biofilters over time and reduce risk for leakage of metals, regular maintenance, including replacement top layer is recommended. However, consider metal fractionation when handling material.