Effectiveness investigations of cleaning air from ammonia by applying a plate biofilter with a sawdust charge

Abstract

Air treatment biotechnologies are the most cost-effective and eco-friendly means of reducing the atmospheric emissions of ammonia and other odoriferous substances such as xylene, hydrogen sulphide, acetone, butanol, etc. The main shortcomings of the currently used biofilters are high aerodynamic resistance of a charge, complicated maintenance of humidity and operating temperature in a charge, obstruction of a biocharge with a mass of microorganisms and a big space required for biofilters. It is necessary to develop new technological solutions for rectifying the afore-mentioned shortcomings. The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of a plate-type biofilter with a capillary charge humidification system. The investigation covered identification of the dependence of biofilter’s effectiveness on time, supplied pollutant concentration and velocity in a charge. As determined during the investigation, biofilter’s effectiveness became stable after 35 days of operation. When the velocity of airflow passed through the biofilter was 0.04 m/s, biofilter’s effectiveness reached 79 %.