Biological treatment of waste gas containing mixture of monochlorobenzene (MCB) and benzene in a bench scale biofilter

The paper outlines treatment of waste gas containing monochlorobenzene (MCB) and benzene in a mixture using biofilter packed with compost and woodchips seeded with Acinetobacter calcoaceticus. The biofilter could treat waste gas containing MCB and benzene effectively with an efficiency of (99 ± 5%) and (97 ± 6%) at optimal empty bed contact time (EBCT) of 3 min with a loading of 57 g/m3/h of MCB and 2 g/m3/h of benzene. At optimum loading of MCB and benzene, the biofilter showed total bacterial count of 13 × 105 CFU/g of compost, while the MCB and benzene degrading bacterial count was 71 × 104 CFU/g and 5 × 104 CFU/g compost respectively. The experimental removal efficiency of MCB and benzene were in good agreement with the model predicted value.