Markers for the Comparison of the Performances of Anoxic Biotrickling Filters in Biogas Desulphurisation: A Critical Review

Implementation of a Pilot-Scale Biotrickling Filtration Process for Biogas Desulfurization under Anoxic Conditions Using Agricultural Digestate as Trickling Liquid

A pilot-scale biotrickling filter (BTF) was operated in counter-current flow mode under anoxic conditions, using diluted agricultural digestate as inoculum and as the recirculation medium for the nutrient source. The process was tested on-site at an agricultural fermentation plant, where real biogas was used. The pilot plant was therefore exposed to real process-related fluctuations. The purpose of this research was to attest the validity of the filtration process for use at an industrial-scale by operating the pilot plant under realistic conditions. Neither the use of agricultural digestate as trickling liquid and nor a BTF of this scale have previously been reported in the literature. The pilot plant was operated for 149 days. The highest inlet load was 8.5 gS-H₂Sm^-3h^-1 with a corresponding removal efficiency of 99.2%. The pH remained between 7.5 and 4.6 without any regulation throughout the complete experimental phase. The analysis of the microbial community showed that both anaerobic and anoxic bacteria can adapt to the fluctuating operating conditions and coexist simultaneously, thus contributing to the robustness of the process. The operation of an anoxic BTF with agricultural digestate as the trickling liquid proved to be viable for industrial-scale use.

Removal of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from Air: Focus on Biotrickling Filtration and Process Modeling

Biotrickling filtration is a well-established technology for the treatment of air polluted with odorous and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Besides dozens of successful industrial applications of this technology, there are still gaps in a full understanding and description of the mechanisms of biotrickling filtration. This review focuses on recent research results on biotrickling filtration of air polluted with single and multiple VOCs, as well as process modeling. The modeling offers optimization of a process design and performance, as well as allows deeper understanding of process mechanisms. An overview of the developments of models describing biotrickling filtration and conventional biofiltration, as primarily developed and in many aspects through similar processes, is presented in this paper.

Resilience of hollow fibre membrane bioreactors for treating H2S under steady state and transient conditions

H₂S removal performance by hollow fibre membrane bioreactors (HFMBs) was investigated for 271 days at ambient (20 ± 2 °C) temperature employing an inlet H₂S concentrations up to 3600 ppm_v and empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 187, 92 and 62 s. Different operating conditions including pH control (with or without), famine period, shock loads (4-72 h) and different biomass types (presence or absence of suspended biomass) were investigated. The H₂S flux and mass-transfer coefficient were significantly higher for the biotic HFMBs (R₁ and R₂) compared to the abiotic control (R₃) at all employed EBRTs. Significant differences in H₂S removal efficiency (RE) and elimination capacity (EC) were noted for different inlet H₂S concentrations, EBRTs, pH and biomass type. The HFMB achieved >99% RE at steady-state for biotic operation with an EC of 33.8, 30.0 and 30.9 g m^-3 h^-1 at an EBRT of 187, 92 and 62 s, respectively. Sulfate (92-93%) was the main sulfur species in the H₂S bioconversion process. The HFMB showed a good resilience to shock loads and showed quick recovery (<24 h) after withdrawal of the shock loads. The HFMB had a critical loading rate of H₂S about 135 g m^-3 h^-1 under transient-state.

A Two-Stage Biogas Desulfurization Process Using Cellular Concrete Filtration and an Anoxic Biotrickling Filter

A two-stage desulfurization process including an abiotic filtration using cellular concrete waste (first stage) and an anoxic biotrickling filter filling with an inoculated expanded schist material (second stage) was investigated to remove H2S in mimic biogas with limited O2 amount (ranged from 0.5 to 0.8%). The two-stage process was able to satisfactorily remove H2S for all experimental conditions (RE > 97%; H2S concentration = 1500 mg m−3; total Empty Bed Residence Time (EBRT) = 200 s; removal capacity (RC) = 26 g m−3 h−1). Moreover, at a total EBRT = 360 s (i.e., 180 s for each stage), the H2S loading rate (LR) was almost treated by the bed of cellular concrete alone, indicating that abiotic filtration could be applied to satisfactorily remove H2S contained in the gas. According to the H2S concentration entering the biotrickling filter, the majority end-product was either elemental sulfur (S0) or sulfate (SO42−). Thus, the ability of the abiotic filter to remove a significant part of H2S would avoid the clogging of the biotrickling filter due to the deposit of S0. Consequently, this two-stage desulfurization process is a promising technology for efficient and economical biogas cleaning adapted to biogas containing limited O2 amounts, such as landfill biogas.