Gaseous dimethyl sulphide removal in a membrane biofilm reactor: Effect of methanol on reactor performance

In this study, removal of dimethyl sulphide (DMS) vapours in a membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) and the effect of the presence of methanol (MeOH) is reported. Results obtained from continuous flow experiments showed that MeOH had a positive effect (maximum 1.3 times higher) on DMS biodegradation. A decrease in MBfR performance was observed during periods without MeOH addition, indicating that MeOH addition is necessary to sustain high DMS removal rates in the MBfR. In this study, a maximum elimination capacity (EC) of 6.2 kg DMS m−3 d−1 was observed at an optimum MeOH dose of 1.1–2.3 g m−3. The observed EC is higher than any reported previously for biofilters or biotrickling filters. Thus, MBfR is a promising technology and can be used for the treatment of mixture of compounds operated under optimum ratios.