Biomass Control via UV Lamp Application and Nutrient Supply Restriction in the Biofiltration of Gaseous VOCs

Biofiltration may have clogging problems owing to excess biomass growth during the treatment of gaseous pollutants.In this study,we employed an UV(Ultraviolet)lamp and controlled the nutrient supply to conduct a biofiltration process for treating 2-butanone(MEK:Methyl Ethyl Ketone)and toluene in a gas stream.Two methods of UV lamp usage(direct and indirect irradiation)and several nutrient supply methods were tested.However,no clear effect was observed with either UV usage.Under the optimal conditions,97%of the MEK and 69%of the toluene gases were removed after 29 s of EBRT(Empty Bed Retention Time).The inlet loads were 18 and 19 mg/(m^(3)·h)for MEK and toluene,respectively.Under these conditions,23 g-N/(m^(3)·day)of nitrate-nitrogen was consumed.Excess biomass growth occurred during simultaneous excess nutrient supply and a persistent irrigation schedule.In this study,we demonstrated the effective use of a dense nitrate solution to deliver an appropriate amount of nutrients and moisture,and the optimal irrigation frequency was four times per week.

Relationship between Moisture Behavior and Gaseous Volatile Organic Compounds Removal in a Biofiltration System

Studies on the relationship between moisture behavior and gaseous VOCs （Volatile Organic Compounds） removal efficiency of packed tower biofilters are limited. In this research, the nutrient holding capacity, moisture evaporation rate and gaseous toluene and MEK （Methyl Ethyl Ketone） removal efficiencies of bioreactors with porous synthetic resin as the packing material were simultaneously observed. The nutrient holding capacity in one of the reactors was higher than those of the other two because its packing layer was frequently supplied with a nutrient solution by soaking. This reactor exhibited the highest toluene removal efficiency. However, excessive biomass growth was observed in this reactor. The reactor with a less frequent supply of nutrient solution by soaking showed a slightly lower toluene removal efficiency, possibly due to lack of nutrients in the packing layer. The reactor that was fed with the nutrient solution by spraying it onto the packing layer （a common method for supplying moisture） had the lowest toluene removal efficiency, mainly because of the uneven distribution of nutrients. Moreover, the moisture evaporation rate in the packing layer during moisture supply and heat balance were determined.

Tricrystalline TiO_2 with enhanced photocatalytic activity and durability for removing volatile organic compounds from indoor air

It is important to develop efficient and economic techniques for removing volatile organic compounds（VOCs） in indoor air. Heterogeneous Ti O2-based semiconductors are a promising technology for achieving this goal. Anatase/brookite/rutile tricrystalline Ti O2 with mesoporous structure was synthesized by a low-temperature hydrothermal route in the presence of HNO3.The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalytic decomposition of toluene in air under UV light illumination. The results show that tricrystalline Ti O2 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity and durability toward gaseous toluene than bicrystalline Ti O2,due to the synergistic effects of high surface area, uniform mesoporous structure and junctions among mixed phases. The tricrystalline Ti O2 prepared at R HNO3= 0.8, containing80.7% anatase, 15.6% brookite and 3.7% rutile, exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity,about 3.85-fold higher than that of P25. The high activity did not significantly degrade even after five reuse cycles. In conclusion, it is expected that our study regarding gas-phase degradation of toluene over tricrystalline Ti O2 will enrich the chemistry of the Ti O2-based materials as photocatalysts for environmental remediation and stimulate further research interest on this intriguing topic.