Performance of a biofilter with compost and activated carbon based packing material for gas-phase toluene removal under extremely high loading rates.

The main aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of a biofilter packed with a mixture of compost and activated carbon, for gas-phase toluene removal under very high loading rates. Plaster of Paris was used as a binder to improve the mechanical strength and durability of the packing media. The biofilter was operated continuously for a period of ∼110 days and at four different flow rates (0.069, 0.084, 0.126 and 0.186 m-3 h-1), corresponding to toluene loading rates of 160-8759 g m-3 h-1. The maximum elimination capacity (EC) achieved in this study was 6665 g m-3 h-1, while the removal efficiency (RE) varied from ∼70 to >95% depending on the loading rate tested. The biofilter was able to remove >99% of toluene using Pseudomonas sp. RSST (MG 279053) as the dominant toluene degrading biocatalyst.