Application of biofilter system for removal of ethyl acetate: Column and kinetic studies

摘要

Ethyl acetate (EA) is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is one of the high-priority toxic chemicals and large volumes of EA are emitted into the atmosphere from various paints and solvent industries. In this study, the performance of biofilter column is evaluated for the removal of EA using a mixture of matured compost and coal in the ratio of 2:1. The effect of various operational parameters such as inlet load, column bed height, packing material and shock loading conditions on the performance of biofilter column is investigated experimentally. The experimental results are validated with the Ottengraf- vanden Oever and Michaelis-menten kinetic models for explaining the mechanism of biofiltration. The maximum elimination capacity (EC) achieved is 32.66 g m-3 h-1 at an inlet load of 36 g m-3 h-1. The value of microbial concentration at the end of 15th day is 3.64x106 CFU g-1, which increased to a value of 5.12x108 CFU g-1 of packing material, with an increase in the operation time from 15 to 45 days. The reasonably good value of microbial concentration obtained is responsible for attaining the removal efficiency of around 92% during the shock loading study.