Biodegradation of gaseous styrene by Brevibacillus sp. using a novel agitating biotrickling filter.

A novel biofilter with an agitator to control excessive biomass accumulation, the agitating biotrickling filter (ABTF) system, was developed for treatment of gaseous styrene using Brevibacillus sp. as the sole microorganism the ABTF exhibited an elimination capacity of 3 kg styrene m(-3) day(-1). After 110 days, the biodegradation efficiency decreased because of the clogging. The excess biomass was effectively removed by agitation. After the first agitation step, 42.4 g biomass was eliminated, and the removal efficiency increased from 60% to 95%. Stable operation of the ABTF was achieved by controlling the biomass accumulation via the agitation of the filter bed.