Performance of low pH biofilters treating a paint solvent mixture: Continuous and intermittent loading

Two biofilters packed with a reticulated polyurethane foam medium were inoculated with a compost-derived enrichment culture grown under acidic conditions (pH 3.0) and then operated over a period lasting 63 days. Both biofilters were supplied with a humidified gas stream containing a five-component mixture of acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene at a total VOC loading rate 80.3 g m−3 h−1 to simulate treatment of air emissions resulting from manufacture of reformulated paint. One biofilter was operated under continuous loading conditions and the other received intermittent loading with contaminants supplied only 8 h/day. Nutrient solution with pH 3.0 was supplied approximately once per week to provide nitrogen and other nutrients. Data are presented which demonstrate that undefined mixed cultures acclimated at low pH can successfully treat paint solvent mixtures in biofilters. The biofilter receiving continuous loading reached high overall removal efficiency (greater than 90% overall removal) 3 weeks after startup, and performance increased over time reaching overall removal in the range of 97–99% after 50 days. Performance of the intermittently loaded biofilter developed more slowly, requiring 6 weeks to stabilize at an overall removal efficiency in excess of 90%. In both biofilters, ketone components were more rapidly degraded than aromatic components, and removal of aromatic compounds was somewhat unstable even after 2 months of biofilter operation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that fungi dominated the microbial populations in both biofilters.