Kinetics studies on the removal of Methyl ethyl ketone using cornstack based biofilter

•A novel packing material, Corn stalk, is used for MEK removal.•A maximum RE of 98% is achieved at the optimum conditions.•Kinetic studies are carried out using Ottengraf and modified Ottengraf model.

The performance of cornstack based biofilter inoculated with a mixed culture was evaluated for gas phase MEK removal under various operating conditions. Experiments were carried out at different flow rates (0.03-0.12 m3 h−1) and various initial concentrations (0.2-1.2 g−3). A maximum elimination capacity (EC) of 35 g−3 h−1 was achieved at an inlet loading rate of 60 g−3 h−1 with a removal efficiency of 95%. High elimination capacity reached with this system could have been due to the dominant presence of filamentous fungi among others. The experimental results were compared with the values obtained from the Ottengraf-van den Oever model for zero-order diffusion-controlled region. The critical inlet concentration, critical inlet load and biofilm thickness were estimated using the model predictions.