Toluene and Ethyl Acetate Biodegradation by Peat Biofilters

Abstract

Air streams discharged from industrial sources contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for which environmental regulations are being increasingly restrictive. Biofiltration is an environmentally friendly technology for treatment of waste gases containing relatively low concentration of VOCs, because of its simplicity, low cost and non-generating hazardous residues. In this work, three laboratory-scale peat biofilters were operated at 90s empty bed residence time for a continuous period of 7 months. Biodegradation of ethyl acetate, toluene, or a 1:1 mixture were investigated (these compounds are among the key pollutants in the exhaust air from printing and coating facilities, and paint manufacturing). A CO2 emissions monitoring and the determination the dynamics of living and dead cells, have been implemented in this work