Removal of Benzene and Toluene Using Bacterial Biofilter

Gaseous streams and effluents from landfills and industrial processes contain a large number of compounds that are harmful to human health. Much of this is inherently odorous and includes VOCs and inorganic compounds such as ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), etc. A variety of odorous compounds can be treated by biological processes such as biofilters. Biofilters have a bed on which microorganisms are grown and the bed can be made from waste materials such as wood, PVC pipes, etc. Most biofilters used to remove contaminants from gas contain mixed cultures of bacteria. Biofilters grown on bacteria are more advantageous than biofilters grown on fungi because of their high growth rate and high substrate utilization rate. The present paper describes the removal of benzene and toluene using biofilters using different types of bed materials under different loading conditions.