Comparison between laboratory and pilot biotrickling filtration of air emissions from painting and wood finishing

BACKGROUND: Painting and wood finishing is one industrial sector affected by the European Union environmental regulations on volatile organic compound (VOC) air emissions. The painting process typically results in high flow rates with low VOC concentrations, so biotrickling filtration could be an ec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology (1986) 2010-03, Vol.85 (3), p.364-370
Main Authors: Sempere, Feliu, Martínez-Soria, Vicente, Penya-roja, Josep-Manuel, Izquierdo, Marta, Palau, Jordi, Gabaldón, Carmen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
biotrickling filter
Chemical engineering
Emissions control
Exact sciences and technology
Feeding
Filtration
Finishing
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Furniture
Liquid-liquid and fluid-solid mechanical separations
m-xylene
Methods. Procedures. Technologies
n-butyl acetate
Others
pilot unit
Reactors
toluene
Various methods and equipments
Volatile organic compounds
Wood
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Summary:BACKGROUND: Painting and wood finishing is one industrial sector affected by the European Union environmental regulations on volatile organic compound (VOC) air emissions. The painting process typically results in high flow rates with low VOC concentrations, so biotrickling filtration could be an economical alternative for controlling air emissions. This study analyses the operation of a pilot unit installed in a furniture facility, and compares its performance with the removal efficiency obtained in the laboratory using a synthetic feed composed of n-butyl acetate, toluene and m-xylene to simulate industrial air emissions.RESULTS: Laboratory studies showed that fluctuating and oscillating VOC feeding adversely affected the performance of the bioreactor in comparison with stationary feeding. The operation of the pilot plant at 35 s of empty bed residence time (EBRT) remained within the legal limits. The installation of an activated carbon prefilter improved considerably the removal efficiency, with emissions kept below 40 mg C m⁻³ working at 24 s of EBRT.CONCLUSION: Biotrickling filtration has been shown as effective for controlling air emissions from a closed booth operated for automatically painting furniture pieces. Laboratory study can provide valuable data for the scale-up. Copyright
ISSN:0268-2575
1097-4660
1097-4660
DOI:10.1002/jctb.2327