Mesophilic and thermophilic biofiltration of gaseous toluene in a long-term operation: Performance evaluation, biomass accumulation, mass balance analysis and isolation identification

► A thermophilic biofilter achieved high performance to remove gaseous toluene at 55 °C. ► Biomass in thermophilic biofilter showed a slow accumulation process. ► Thermophilic biofilter presented a lower pressure drop than that of mesophilic biofilter. ► Less fraction of the removed toluene was converted to biomass in thermophilic biofilter.