Bacterial biofilters usually exhibit a high microbial diversity and robustness, while fungal biofilters have been claimed to better withstand low moisture contents and pH values, and to be more efficient coping with hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, there are only few systematic evaluations of both biofiltration technologies. The present study compared fungal and bacterial...

Biotreatment of various ratios of H2S and NH3 gas mixtures was studied using the biofilters, packed with co-immobilized cells (Arthrobacter oxydans CH8 for NH3 and Pseudomonas putida CH11 for H2S). Extensive tests to determine removal characteristics, removal efficiency, removal kinetics, and pressure drops of the biofilters were performed. To estimate the largest allowable inlet concentration,...

The irreversible hydrolysis of 1-chlorobutane to 1-butanol and HCl by lyophilized cells of Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB 13064, using a solid–gas biofilter, is described as a model reaction. 1-Chlorobutane is hydrolyzed by the haloalkane dehalogenase from R. erythropolis. A critical water thermodynamic activity (aw) of 0.4 is necessary for the enzyme to become active and optimal dehalogenase a...

The effect of relative humidity (RH: 30% to >95%) of a gas-phase mixture composed of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and para-, meta- and ortho-xylenes (BTEX), inlet concentrations (0.2-12.6 g m(-3)), and empty bed residence times (EBRTs) (48-144 s) was tested in a fungi-dominant biofilter. A maximum elimination capacity (EC(max)) of 244.2 gBTEX m(-3) h(-1) was achieved at a total inlet loading ...