Abstract
Biofiltration of n-hexane as a representative of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at presence and absence of rhamnolipid biosurfactant was studied using a multilayer biofilter packed with scoria, compost, poplar tree skin and sugar beet pulp, for 131 days. The concentration of n-hexane was measured by a gas chromatograph coupled with a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The results showed that the mean removal efficiency (RE) of n-hexane at the presence of the biosurfactant was two times higher than that at absence of the biosurfactant. According to the results, rhamnolipid can enhance the efficiency of biofiltration of VOCs from polluted air streams.
Highlights
Subject Area: More specific subject area: Protocol name: Reagents/tools: Experimental design: Trial registration: Ethics: Environmental Science Air pollution control
Four different mixtures of materials consisted of 40% compost, 20% scoria, 20% sugar beet pulp, and 20% poplar tree skin were used as packing materials in the biofilter
More details are available in our previous study [1]
Summary
Subject Area: More specific subject area: Protocol name: Reagents/tools: Experimental design: Trial registration: Ethics: Environmental Science Air pollution control. Biofiltration of VOCs is only dependent on its own gas solubility and bioavailability [2,3] These pollutants are usually poorly removed by biofiltration [4,5,6]. The application of a chemical or biological surfactant can be one of the practical options to enhance the bioavailability and solubility of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) [7,8,9,10]. Biosurfactants compare to chemical surfactants are more effective, less toxic, environmentally friendly and more biodegradable. It increases the water solubility of HOCs and thereby facilitates the biodegradation of these compounds [11,12,13,14]. To decrease the adaptation time of microorganisms in the biofilter bed, fresh activated sludge of the wastewater treatment plant was used as an inoculum source for the biofilter bed
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