Modeling of biomass accumulation and filter bed st6ructure change in biofilters for gaseous toluene removal

Abstract

[Abstract] In this study, a proper microbial growth model was established and analyzed to investigate the biomass accumulation process in biofilters. Four biofilters treating gaseous toluene were set up in parallel and were operated under different inlet toluene loadings for 100 days. Based on the experimental data of microbial biomass and toluene removal rate, the kinetic parameters were decided by either estimation from literature or parameter regression. The calculation results based on the model showed a good agreement with the experimental data of biomass change. By applying the model, it is found that lower than 50% of biomass in the filter bed was active during the last 50 days for the four biofilters. In addition, the void fraction of the filter bed with highest loading was only 55% of the initial level at the end of the operation. All the experimental and calculation results indicated that the microbial growth model could successfully describe the biomass accumulation process and have the potential to predict the long-term performance of biofilters.