Treatmet of gas phase styrene in a biofilter under steady-state conditions

Abstract

[Abstract] Preliminary studies on the performance of a laboratory scale perlite biofilter inoculated with a mixed culture taken from petrochemical refinery sludge was evaluated for gas phase styrene removal under various operating conditions. Initially, the biofilter was acclimatized for 53 days at constant loading rates (40-60 g/m3.h), wherein the performance gradually improved with fluctuations in the removal profiles. Experiments were carried out by subjecting the biofilter to different flow rates (150, 300 l/h) and concentrations (0.5 – 5 g/m3), that corresponds to inlet loading rates between 60 – 200 g/m3.h. The results from this study show100% styrene removal with a maximum elimination capacity of 190 g/m3.h.