TY - JOUR
T1 - Treatment of benzene and n-hexane mixtures in trickle-bed air biofilters
AU - Hassan, Ashraf Aly
AU - Sorial, George A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the financial support from National Science Foundation (NSF) under award CBET 0852803. The findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessary reflect the views of NSF.
PY - 2011/2
Y1 - 2011/2
N2 - Trickle-bed air biofilters (TBABs) are suitable for treatment of hydrophilic volatile organic compounds, but they pose a challenge for hydrophobic compounds. Three laboratory-scale TBABs were used for the treatment of an airstream contaminated with different ratios of n-hexane and benzene mixtures. The ratios studied were 1:1, 2:1, and 1:3 n-hexane:benzene by volume. Each TBAB was operated at a pH of 4 and a temperature of 20 °C. The use of acidic-buffered nutrient solution was targeted for changing the microorganism consortium to fungi as the main biodegradation element. The experimental plan was designed to investigate the long-term performance of the TBABs with an emphasis on different mixture loading rates, removal efficiency with TBAB depth, volatile suspended solids, and carbon mass balance closure. n-Hexane loading rate was kept constant in the TBABs for comparison reasons and ranged from 4 to 22 g/(m3.hr). Corresponding benzene loadings ranged from 4 to 43 g/(m3.hr). Generally, benzene behavior in the TBAB was superior to that of n-hexane because of its higher solubility. n-Hexane showed improved performance in the 2:1 mixing ratio as compared with the other two ratios.
AB - Trickle-bed air biofilters (TBABs) are suitable for treatment of hydrophilic volatile organic compounds, but they pose a challenge for hydrophobic compounds. Three laboratory-scale TBABs were used for the treatment of an airstream contaminated with different ratios of n-hexane and benzene mixtures. The ratios studied were 1:1, 2:1, and 1:3 n-hexane:benzene by volume. Each TBAB was operated at a pH of 4 and a temperature of 20 °C. The use of acidic-buffered nutrient solution was targeted for changing the microorganism consortium to fungi as the main biodegradation element. The experimental plan was designed to investigate the long-term performance of the TBABs with an emphasis on different mixture loading rates, removal efficiency with TBAB depth, volatile suspended solids, and carbon mass balance closure. n-Hexane loading rate was kept constant in the TBABs for comparison reasons and ranged from 4 to 22 g/(m3.hr). Corresponding benzene loadings ranged from 4 to 43 g/(m3.hr). Generally, benzene behavior in the TBAB was superior to that of n-hexane because of its higher solubility. n-Hexane showed improved performance in the 2:1 mixing ratio as compared with the other two ratios.
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U2 - 10.3155/1047-3289.61.2.201
DO - 10.3155/1047-3289.61.2.201
M3 - Article
C2 - 21387937
AN - SCOPUS:79952927176
SN - 1096-2247
VL - 61
SP - 201
EP - 210
JO - Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
JF - Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
IS - 2
ER -