Contaminated Gas Streams Research Articles

Hydrochars derived from real organic wastes as carbonaceous precursors of activated carbons for the removal of NO from contaminated gas streams

The improvement of air quality in densely-populated urban regions constitutes an environmental challenge of increasing concern. In this respect, the abatement of NO emissions, primarily emanating from combustion processes associated with motor-vehicles, along with industrial/domestic combustion systems, represents one of the main problems. Here, three hydrochars from diverse organic residues were used as activated carbon precursors for their evaluation in the NO removal in two potential application scenarios. Hydrochars were physically activated at 800 °C with pure-CO2 or diluted-O2. These materials were tested in a lab-scale biofilter at different conditions (NO concentration, temperature, relative humidity, NO-containing gas and carbon particle size) and in a larger-scale biofilter to evaluate the long-term NO removal capacity. Hydrochar-derived carbons present a relatively well-developed micro- and mesoporous structure, with BET areas of up to 421 m2/g, and a variety of oxygen surface functionalities (carboxylic, lactone, carbonyl and quinone groups), especially concerning CO2-activated carbons. These exhibited an excellent behaviour at low NO concentration (5 ppmv) between 25 and 75 °C with removal capacities of ≈97 % and > 82 %, respectively; and still good-performance (≈66 %) in a more concentrated gas (120 ppmv). Whilst, carbons obtained by diluted-O2 activation from the same hydrochars, evidenced a higher removal capacity loss at high NO concentration. The O2 presence in the gas stream was confirmed as a crucial factor in the NO elimination, since both co-adsorb on the carbon surface favouring NO oxidation to NO2. Besides, the humidity in the airstream diminished the NO removal capacity from 0.88 to 0.51 mgNO/gcarbon, but still remained at 0.54 mgNO/gcarbon, when the carbon (in pellet) was operated at larger-scale biofilter in 9-fold longer test under humid air. Therefore, this study highlights the potential of renewable carbons to serve as cost-effective component in urban biofilters, to mitigate NO emissions from exhaust gases in biomass boilers and urban semi-close areas.

Performance and neural modeling of a compost-based biofilter treating a gas-phase mixture of benzene and xylene

Biofilter (BF) has been regarded as a versatile gas treatment technology for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from contaminated gas streams. In order for BF to be utilized in the industrial setting, it is essential to conduct research aimed at removing VOC mixtures under different inlet loading conditions, i.e. as a function of the gas flow rate and inlet VOC concentrations. The main aim of this study was to apply artificial neural networks (ANN) and determine the relationship between flow rate (FR), pressure drop (PD), inlet concentration (C), and removal efficiency (RE) in the BF treating gas-phase benzene and xylene mixtures. The ANN model was trained and tested to assess the removal efficiency of benzene (REB) and xylene (REX) under the influence of different FR, PD and C. The model's performance was assessed using a cross-validation method. The REb varied from 20% to >60%, while the REx varied from 10% to 70% during the different experimental phases of BF operation. The causal index (CI) technique was used to determine the sensitivity of the input parameters on the output variables. The ANN model with a topology of 4-4-2 performed the best in terms of predicting the RE profiles of both the pollutants. Furthermore, the effect was more pronounced for xylene because an increase in the benzene concentration reduced xylene removal (CI = −25.7170) more severely than benzene removal. An increase in the xylene concentration had a marginally positive effect on the benzene removal (CI = +0.1178).

Treatment of benzene contaminated gas streams by combining adsorption and electrochemical oxidation processes

In this work, air streams polluted with benzene were treated by a three-step process, which combines adsorption to remove the pollutants, desorption with methanol to regenerate the adsorbent, and electrochemical treatment to regenerate methanol. The improvement in the sustainability of this process was also evaluated by reusing both the adsorbent (granular activated carbon) and methanol used as solvent in the desorption step. Adsorption isotherm models were used to understand the mechanism of adsorption, and data fitted well the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.9875). Fresh methanol used in the desorption step did not affect the adsorption capacity of GAC, but the treated methanol decreased it by about 10% after three cycles and around 40% after the fourth cycle. Electrochemical treatment in methanol medium produced anisole and dimethyl maleate, that are substances of commercial interest that may be used to increase the value of electrochemical treatment, into a new concept of transforming degradative processes, traditionally faced by the electrochemical treatment of wastes, into a novel electro-refinery process. Thus, the sustainability of the technology and the production of value-added substances are very important findings that will help to change the paradigm of the electrochemical treatment process.

A comparison of biofiltration performance based on bacteria and fungi for treating toluene vapors from airflow

With increasing concerns about industrial gas contaminants and the growing demand for durable and sustainable technologies, attentions have been gradually shifted to biological air pollution controls. The ability of Pseudomonas putida PTCC 1694 (bacteria) and Pleurotus ostreatus IRAN 1781C (fungus) to treat contaminated gas stream with toluene and its biological degradation was compared under similar operating conditions. For this purpose, a biofilter on the laboratory scale was designed and constructed and the tests were carried out in two stages. The first stage, bacterial testing, lasted 20 days and the second stage, fungal testing, lasted 16 days. Inlet loading rates (IL) for bacterial and fungal biofilters were 21.62 ± 6.04 and 26.24 ± 7.35 g/m3 h respectively. In general, fungal biofilter showed a higher elimination capacity (EC) than bacterial biofilter (18.1 ± 6.98 vs 13.7 ± 4.7 g/m3 h). However, the pressure drop in the fungal biofilter was higher than the bacterial biofilter (1.26 ± 0.3 vs 1 ± 0.3 mm water), which was probably due to the growth of the mycelium. Fungal biofiltration showed a better performance in the removal of toluene from the air stream.

Transient-state operation of an anoxic biotrickling filter for H2S removal.

The application of an anoxic biotrickling filter (BTF) for H2S removal from contaminated gas streams is a promising technology for simultaneous H2S and NO3- removal. Three transient-state conditions, i.e. different liquid flow rates, wet-dry bed operations and H2S shock loads, were applied to a laboratory-scale anoxic BTF. In addition, bioaugmentation of the BTF with a H2S removing-strain, Paracoccus MAL 1HM19, to enhance the biomass stability was investigated. Liquid flow rates (120, 60 and 30 L d-1) affected the pH and NO3- removal efficiency (RE) in the liquid phase. Wet-dry bed operations at 2-2 h and 24-24 h reduced the H2S elimination capacity (EC) by 60-80%, while the operations at 1-1 h and 12-12 h had a lower effect on the BTF performance. When the BTF was subjected to H2S shock loads by instantly increasing the gas flow rate (from 60 to 200 L h-1) and H2S inlet concentration (from 112 (± 15) to 947 (± 151) ppmv), the BTF still showed a good H2S RE (>93%, EC of 37.8 g S m-3 h-1). Bioaugmentation with Paracoccus MAL 1HM19 enhanced the oxidation of the accumulated S0 to sulfate in the anoxic BTF.

Performance Review of Venturi Scrubber

Radioactive emissions are released from the molten core into reactor containment during the failure of nuclear power plant (NPP) due to severe accident. The technology called “Filtered Vented containment system (FVCS)” is the necessity in nuclear power plant for the removal of gaseous pollutants. The Self – Priming venturi scrubbers are the most efficient scrubbing device for the collection of gaseous pollutants and fine particles. Venturi Scrubbers frequently collect gaseous pollutants and particulate matter from the contaminated gas stream in the form of droplets formed due to liquid atomization. The main purpose of this literature review regarding the Venturi Scrubber to make modified optimum design to improve the performance of Venturi Scrubber as per the required safety regulation standards.

Toluene, Methanol and Benzaldehyde Removal from Gas Streams by Adsorption onto Natural Clay and Faujasite-Y type Zeolite.

A great number of pollution problems come as a result of the emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) into the environment and their control becomes a serious challenge for the global chemical industry. Adsorption is a widely used technique for the removal of VOCs due to its high efficiency, low cost, and convenient operation. In this study, the feasibility to use a locally available clay, as adsorbent material to control VOCs emissions is evaluated. Natural clay is characterised by different physical-chemical methods and adsorptive interaction features between VOCs and natural clay are identified. Toluene (T), methanol (M) and benzaldehyde (B) are used here as representatives of three different kinds of VOCs. Adsorption isotherms onto natural clay and faujasite-Y type zeolite (Fau Y) are obtained at room temperature. According to Langmuir model data, maximum adsorption capacities (qm) of Fez natural clay and zeolite toward methanol (M), toluene (T) and benzaldehyde (B) at 300 K are 8, 0.89 and 3.1 mmol g-1, and 15, 1.91 and 13.9 mmol g-1 respectively. In addition, the effect of temperature on the adsorption of toluene onto natural clay is evaluated in the range from 300 to 323K. An increase on temperature reduces the adsorption capacity of natural clay toward toluene, indicating that an exothermic physical adsorption process takes place. The enthalpy of adsorption of toluene onto Fez natural clay was found to be -54 kJ mol-1. A preliminary cost analysis shows that natural clay could be used as an alternative low cost adsorbent in the control of VOCs from contaminated gas streams with a cost of US$ 0.02 kg-1 compared to Fau Y zeolite with US$ 10 kg-1.

Pathogenic Yet Environmentally Friendly? Black Fungal Candidates for Bioremediation of Pollutants

ABSTRACTA collection of 163 strains of black yeast-like fungi from the CBS Fungal Biodiversity Center (Utrecht, The Netherlands), has been screened for the ability to grow on hexadecane, toluene and polychlorinated biphenyl 126 (PCB126) as the sole carbon and energy source. These compounds were chosen as representatives of relevant environmental pollutants. A microtiter plate-based culture assay was set up in order to screen the fungal strains for growth on the selected xenobiotics versus glucose, as a positive control. Growth was observed in 25 strains on at least two of the tested substrates. Confirmation of substrate assimilation was performed by cultivation on closed vials and analysis of the headspace composition with regard to the added volatile substrates and the generated carbon dioxide. Exophiala mesophila (CBS 120910) and Cladophialophora immunda (CBS 110551), both of the order Chaetothyriales and isolated from a patient with chronic sinusitis and a polluted soil sample, respectively, showed the ability to grow on toluene as the sole carbon and energy source. Toluene assimilation has previously been described for C. immunda but this is the first account for E. mesophila. Also, this is the first time that the capacity to grow on alkylbenzenes has been demonstrated for a clinical isolate. Assimilation of toluene could not be demonstrated for the human opportunistic pathogen Pseudoallescheria boydii (CBS 115.59, Microascales), but the results from microtiter plate assays suggest that strains of this species are promising candidates for further studies. The outstanding abilities of black yeast-like fungi to thrive in extreme environments makes them ideal agents for the bioremediation of polluted soils, and for the treatment of contaminated gas streams in biofilters. However, interrelations between hydrocarbonoclastic and potentially pathogenic strains need to be elucidated in order to avoid the possibility of biohazards occurring.

Tailoring palladium alloy membranes for hydrogen separation from sulfur contaminated gas streams

Lately multi-component Pd alloy membranes have garnered much interest for H2 separation from coal-derived gas streams which still contain up to 40ppm H2S after desulfurization with ZnO beds at 673–773K. Here we report on inhibition of three PdCuAg membranes with Cu-rich, Ag-rich and nearly even Cu:Ag stoichiometry in 9:1 H2/N2 mixtures with up to 35ppm H2S at these temperatures. The comparison with a Pd81Cu19 membrane shows that addition of Ag to PdCu alloys weakens the resistance towards sulfur. Still, H2 flux remained at least 50% higher for a Pd79Cu11Ag10 membrane than for the Pd81Cu19 membrane under all H2S testing conditions due to the combination of extraordinary H2 permeability with relatively moderate H2S inhibition of this ternary alloy. Its H2 permeation rate places the Pd79Cu11Ag10 membrane among the best performing, sulfur tolerant membranes reported to date. Moreover, its H2 flux could be fully restored after testing with H2S through operation in H2 suggesting that the employed H2S levels had no lasting detrimental effects. However, Pd4S and Ag5Pd10S5 were detected on Pd79Cu11Ag10 but not on Pd84Cu11Ag5 after exposure to 100 ppm H2S at 773K indicating that a careful balance of alloy stoichiometry is necessary for optimum sulfur tolerance. Thus, PdCuAg membranes may provide an attractive alternative to less permeable PdCu and more expensive PdAu-based membranes for H2 extraction from sulfur contaminated gas mixtures.

A numerical study on the fluid flow and thermal characteristics inside the scrubber with water injection

New technologies have been adopted by the marine industry to control the air emission from ship. Wet scrubbers have found widespread use in cleaning contaminated gas streams by the application of scrubbing of marine engine exhaust gases by spraying sea-water and thus develop their ability to remove particulates like SOX for pollution free environment. In real case problems, to control the emission of SOX in scrubber, the temperature of the flue gases should be dropped down by spraying sea-water droplets which brings down the lifetime of harmful pollutants. In order to examine the flow characteristics inside the scrubber, the computer simulation methodology is carried out in this paper with the boundary conditions of hot air at ideal gas state and water droplets injection using lagrangian method. During the impact of injecting water droplets over the hot air, the nature invites evaporation of hot air which is the obvious benefit of scrubber in diminishing the domain temperature. After the numerical analysis, if the model is observed with reasonable reduction in domain temperature, the optimum scrubber design can be elected for pollutant emission control in real case problems. From the assessment of possible impacts of pollutants from marine industry, the temperature of the system are in need of investigation facilitating the evaporation rate of water droplets and the computation of droplets concentration over the entire domain to bring out the competent modeling. The numerical analysis using CFD facilitates in understanding the problem better over its entire operating envelope.

Influence of polymeric materials on the performance of a mesophilic biotrickling filter treating an α‐pinene contaminated gas stream

AbstractBACKGROUNDRecent studies have characterized the most effective absorbent polymers for the removal of volatile hydrophobic pollutants from air. This study evaluates the performance of a laboratory scale α‐pinene‐degrading biotrickling filter (BTF) packed with lava rock. A second solid phase, Hytrel® G3548L (5%, v/v), was added in order to check its effect on the performance of the system during long‐term operation.RESULTSThe biodegradation profile was similar in both bioreactor configurations, with or without solid polymers, reaching a maximum elimination capacity (ECmax) around 25.6 g m−3 h−1 when an inlet loading rate of 57.2 g m−3 h−1 was applied. Tracer studies were carried out in order to determine the effect of the liquid and gas velocities, and to analyze the gas distribution with the different packing materials.CONCLUSIONSDeviation from ideal flow caused by channelling of the fluid was observed from tracer studies. No better performance was observed under steady‐state conditions in the presence of polymeric Hytrel material. Further considerations are needed for the selection of an appropriate absorbent polymer for α‐pinene removal. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Selective dielectric heating for efficient adsorptive-catalytic cleaning of contaminated gas streams

A dynamic phenomenon of selective dielectric heating using radio-frequency energy is used to establish a continuous process for the elimination of organic pollutants from contaminated gas streams. The process consists of two phases characterized by adsorption and by regeneration utilizing in situ catalytic oxidation. The thermal regeneration of the packed bed is started by a so-called thermo-chromatographic pulse, i.e. a combined water/temperature pulse moving through the reactor with a packed bed containing both an adsorber and a catalytically active component (NaY zeolite and Pt, respectively). The pronounced temperature pulse is formed due to the strongly enhanced absorption of electromagnetic energy within a water pulse. This can be explained by the complex dependency of the energy absorption on both local moisture content and local temperature of the zeolite. As a result, the previously adsorbed organic contaminants are desorbed and, simultaneously, the catalyst is thermally activated leading to total oxidation of the released hydrocarbons. Thus, the gas stream can be permanently cleaned employing only one packed bed reactor. This has been demonstrated for various experimental conditions.

Removal of the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene from air via biofiltration: performance assessment and microbial community structure

Experiments were conducted in a laboratory-scale biofilter to assess the ability of a fixed-film biological process to treat an air stream containing β-caryophyllene, a sesquiterpene emitted by a variety of conifer trees as well as industrial wood processing operations. Treatment performance was evaluated under a variety of pollutant loading conditions and nutrient supply rates over an operational period lasting more than 240days. At empty bed contact times (EBCTs) as low as 10s and daily average pollutant loading rate as high as 24.2g C/(m(3)h) (grams pollutant measured as carbon per cubic meter packed bed volume per hour), removal efficiencies in excess of 95% were observed when sufficient nutrients were supplied. Results demonstrate that, as with biofilters treating other compounds, biofilters treating β-caryophyllene can experience local nutrient limitations that result in diminished performance. The biofilter successfully recovered high removal efficiency within a few days after resumption of pollutant loading following a 14-day interval of no contaminant loading. Construction of a 16S rRNA gene library via pyrosequencing revealed the presence of a high proportion of bacteria clustering within the genera Gordonia (39.7% of the library) and Rhodanobacter (37.6%). Other phylotypes detected at lower relative abundances included Pandoraea (6.2%), unclassified Acetobacteraceae (5.5%), Dyella (3.3%), unclassified Xanthomonadaceae (2.6%), Mycobacterium (1.8%), and Nocardia (0.6%). Collectively, results demonstrate that β-caryophyllene can be effectively removed from contaminated gas streams using biofilters.

Continuous reduction of toluene vapours from the contaminated gas stream in a fluidised bed photoreactor

Continuous reduction of toluene vapours in a gas fluidised bed photoreactor was studied using TiO 2-coated activated carbon (AC/TiO 2) particles as the fluidising media. The toluene vapour concentration before treatment was in the range between 200 and 1000 ppm and was relatively high compared to previous similar research works. The experimental results showed that the effective toluene reduction duration (according to the Standards of Permissible Exposure Limits of Toluene in Taiwan) was improved for approximately 130–137% using AC/TiO 2 particles as the fluidising media compared to that using AC particles as the fluidising media in the fluidised bed photoreactor with the gas flow rate between 3 and 15 L/min. When the gas stream with the toluene vapour concentration 200 ppm, the relative humidity 30% and the flow rate 3 L/min was deducted in the fluidised bed photoreactor using AC/TiO 2 particles as the fluidising media, the conditioned gas could pass the toluene permissible exposure limit in Taiwan for more than 11 h.

Transient performance of two‐phase partitioning bioreactors treating a toluene contaminated gas stream

Two-phase partitioning bioreactors (TPPBs) consist of a cell-containing aqueous phase and an immiscible organic phase that sequesters and delivers toxic substrates to cells based on equilibrium partitioning. The immiscible organic phase, which acts as a buffer for inhibitory substrate loadings, makes it possible for TPPBs to handle high volatile organic compound (VOC) loadings, and in this study the performance of liquid n-hexadecane and solid styrene butadiene (SB) polymer beads used as partitioning phases were compared to a single aqueous phase system while treating transient loadings of a toluene contaminated air stream by Achromobacter xylosoxidans Y234. The TPPBs operated as well-mixed stirred tanks, with total working volumes of 3 L (3 L aqueous for the single-phase system, 2 L aqueous and 1 L n-hexadecane for the solvent system, and 2.518 L aqueous volume and 500 g of SB beads for the polymer system). Two 60-min step changes (7 and 17 times the nominal loading rates, termed "small" and "large" steps, respectively) were imposed on the systems and the performance was characterized by the overall removal efficiencies, instantaneous removal efficiency recovery times (above 95% removal), and dissolved oxygen recovery times. For the small steps, with a nominal loading of 343 g/m3/h increasing to 2,400 g/m3/h, the TPPB system using n-hexadecane as the second phase performed best, removing 97% of the toluene fed to the system compared with 90% for the polymer beads system and only 69% for the single-phase system. The imposed large transient gave similar results, although the impact of the presence of a second sequestering phase was more pronounced, with the n-hexadecane system maintaining much reduced aqueous toluene concentrations leading to significantly improved performance. This investigation also showed that the presence of both n-hexadecane and SB beads improved the oxygen transfer within the systems.

Facilitated Transport of CO2 through Immobilized Liquid Membrane

Selective removal of acid gases from a contaminated gas stream was studied using four amines (diethylenetriamine (DETA), diaminoethane (DAE), diethylamine (DEYA), and bis(2-ethylhexyl)amine (BEHA)) as immobilized liquids in a facilitated transport membrane. The effect of amine concentration, CO2 partial pressure, and operating temperature on the permeance of CO2 and CH4 was investigated for each aqueous amine solution. The observed CO2 permeance decreased with increasing CO2 feed pressure, whereas the permeance of CH4 remained constant for all tested amines. The permeance of CO2 and the selectivity were in the order DETA > DAE > BEHA ≈ DEYA. This order is related to the number of nitrogen atoms per amine molecule, which can be correlated to loading capacity and consequently to amine reactivity with CO2. The permeance of CO2 in 2 M DETA increased with increasing temperature. The permeance of CO2 using DETA was about 4 times that obtained using diethanolamine (DEA) and monoethanolamine (MEA), which are the most commonly used solvents in industrial applications.

Control of Trichloroethylene Emissions from Sparging Systems by Horizontal Bio- and Chemo- Barriers

The scope of this study was to develop a continuous system to clean-up a trichloroethylene (TCE) contaminated gas stream, where biotic and abiotic removal mechanisms are undertaken sequentially simulating the horizontal bio- and chemo-barriers proposed for the in-situ remediation of the contaminated sites. The bio- and chemo-barriers were simulated by using glass columns packed with granular anaerobic mixed culture and Fe(0) filings, respectively. The effect of gas residence time, which is adjusted by the gas flowrate, on the TCE removal efficiency of the reactor system was investigated. TCE removal efficiency of over 90% was achieved at gas residence times above 1hr. Furthermore, the effluent of reactor system contained only ethane and ethylene, which are non-toxic by-products of TCE reduction reactions, along with trace amounts of TCE.

Comparison of Continuous and Sequencing Batch Operated Biofilters for Treatment of Gas-Phase Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Although biofiltration has been used successfully to remove and biodegrade a wide variety of gas-phase organic contaminants generated by industrial facilities and environmental remediation efforts, the ability of conventional biofilters to maintain high removal efficiency during short-term, unsteady-state, elevated loading conditions is limited. A promising alternative for improving biofilter performance during transient elevated loading conditions while minimizing the disadvantages of conventional treatment technologies is utilization of adsorption packing media and implementation of sequencing batch operating strategies. In the studies described herein, a continuous-flow biofilter (CFB) and a sequencing batch biofilter (SBB) were operated for more than 300 days to treat a methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) contaminated gas stream. The packing medium for both biofilters consisted of activated carbon coated polyurethane foam cubes. Both biofilters exhibited stable long-term performance with greater than 99% remova...

Addressing biofilter limitations: a two-phase partitioning bioreactor process for the treatment of benzene and toluene contaminated gas streams.

A two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) achieved simultaneous and continuous removal and degradation of benzene and toluene from an air stream. The aqueous- organic system utilized n-hexadecane as the organic phase, and the organism Alcaligenes xylosoxidans Y234 in the aqueous phase to achieve the degradation of benzene and toluene. The system, which operates as a well-mixed dispersion and is therefore resistant to substrate surges, was first shown to be capable of utilizing toluene while operating at a loading capacity of 235 g m(-3) h(-1) with an elimination capacity of 233 g m(-3) h(-1). It was also determined that to characterize TPPB performance in terms of elimination capacity the definition of elimination capacity must be extended to include the cell mass present, a readily controllable variable given the nature of the system. Based on this criterion, it was estimated that for a cell concentration of 1 g l(-1) present in the TPPB, the potential maximum toluene elimination capacity is 1290 g m(-3) h(-1) which is substantially higher than any toluene elimination capacity achieved by biofilters at a high removal efficiency. If no other factor were to limit the system, elimination capacities could be many times higher still, and are dependent on maintaining desired cell concentrations above 1 g l(-1). The TPPB was then operated at nominal loading capacities of 63 g m(-3) h(-1) (benzene) and 51 g m(-3) h(-1) (toluene) at a removal efficiency greater than 99% to demonstrated the applicability of this system in dealing with two chemical species simultaneously. TPPB systems therefore have been shown to be effective at removing gaseous organic contaminants at high removal efficiencies while also possessing desirable operating features, such as providing and maintaining high cell concentrations throughout the reactor, and a capacity to effectively deal with high contaminant loadings.

Modeling and design of vapor‐phase biofiltration for chlorinated volatile organic compounds

AbstractA mathematical model was developed for biofilter design and performance prediction with reference to the purification of contaminated gas streams. The model incorporated important aspects such as mass transfer, biodegradation, and adsorption processes. A systematic modeling protocol incorporated the development of a scale‐up strategy based on dimensional analysis and similitude. Trichloroethylene (TCE) was employed as the model contaminant for biofiltration testing and model verification. The biokinetic and adsorption parameters for the contaminant were determined independently from a series of minibiofilter and miniadsorber column experiments, specifically designed to simulate the actual biofilter operational regimes in a miniature scale. Bench‐scale biofilter experiments employing granular activated carbon columns indicated the good predictive capability of the model for the removal of TCE. Dynamic simulation studies were performed to assess the transient‐ and steady‐state behavior of the model under various operating conditions. Model sensitivity was studied to evaluate the influence of adsorption equilibrium, transport and biological parameters on the biofilter dynamics. The results demonstrated that the biofilter performance was greatly influenced by the Monod coefficients and the biofilm thickness.