The effects of selected parameters on the nitric oxide removal by biofilter

Abstract

A bench-scale biofilter was used to demonstrate the treatability of off-gas containing nitric oxide (NO) by examining selected operational parameters. After 6 days of operation, the biofilter reached to a steady state and NO reduction was significant, reducing from 200 ppm to 95 and 40 ppm after 6 and 40 days of continuous operation. The oxygen concentrations in the inlet would affect NO removal performance significantly; as oxygen content decreasing from 6% to 0%, the NO removal efficiency increased from 55% to 99%, indicating that oxygen inhibited the progress of denitrification. NO removal was inversely proportional to inlet NO concentration, removal efficiency decreased from 88% to 40 % as NO concentration increasing from 60 to 500 ppm. Column height would significant effect on the NO removal efficiency, under column height = 6.5 m and O 2 = 6% conditions, 90% of removal efficiency was achievable. The effect of glucose added into biofilter would significantly enhance the NO removal efficiencies for both anaerobic and aerobic conditions of which 99% and 55%, respectively.