Preparation of a Nutritional Slow-release Packing Material with Function Microorganisms and Its Characteristics Evaluation

Abstract

A nutritional slow-release packing material with function microorganisms (SC) was prepared using emulsification and the cross-linked method. Its potential as packing material in biotrickling filters (BTF) for butyl acetate removal was evaluated. The physicochemical properties show that the packing has a porosity of 92.6%, bulk density of 40.75 kg·m-3, surface area of 2.45 m2·g-1, and real density of 551.52 kg·m-3. The packing material contains hydrophilic groups (O-H, C O) on its surface and nutrient elements (N, P), which are distributed uniformly, with release rates of 22.35 and 8.36 mg·(L·d)-1, respectively. The biomass concentration of the packing (protein/packing) is 14.61 mg·g-1. After storage for 7 and 30 d, the microorganisms fixed on the packing material could still remove more than 96% of butyl acetate. The BTF using SC as packings reach stable performance within a short time (8 d) and the removal efficiency is maintained at 94% unless there nutrition is supplied or the pH is adjusted. The BTF with polyurethane as packing material need a longer time to start up and the removal efficiency decreases to 80% under the same operating conditions. High-throughput sequencing analysis shows that the fixed degrading stains are dominant during the whole operation and the microbial structure is more stable, which could sustain the stable removal of butyl acetate in BTF using SC.