One-stage biotrickling filter for the removal of a mixture of volatile pollutants from air: Performance and microbial community analysis

The biodegradation of gas-phase mixtures of methanol, alpha-pinene and H2S was examined in a biotrickling filter (BTF), inoculated with a microbial consortium composed of an autotrophic H2S-degrading culture, and pure strains of Candida boidinii, Rhodococcus erythropolis, and Ophiostoma stenoceras. The inlet concentrations of methanol, alpha-pinene and H2S varied from 0.05 to 3.3 g m(-3), 0.05 to 2.7 g m(-3), and 0.01 to 1.4 g m(-3), respectively, at empty bed residence times (EBRT) of either 38 or 26 s. The maximum elimination capacities (ECmax) of the BTF were 302, 175, and 191 g m(-3) h(-1), with 100%, 67%, and >99% removal of methanol, alpha-pinene and H2S, respectively. The presence of methanol showed an antagonistic removal pattern for alpha-pinene, but the opposite did not occur. For alpha-pinene, inlet loading rates (ILRs) >150 g(alpha-pinene)m(-3) h(-1) affected its own removal in the BTF. The presence of H2S did not show any declining effect on the removal of both methanol and alpha-pinene. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.