ABSTRACT
In the present study, two laboratory-scale biotrickling filters filled with the same type of packing material were operated at different temperatures (mesophilic and thermophilic conditions), either in presence or in the absence of an organic phase, in order to investigate their performance in treating α-pinene. The operating parameters considered in this study included the α-pinene loading rate and the flow rate (i.e., EBRT) of the inlet waste stream. In absence of an organic phase, the thermophilic biotrickling filter removed α-pinene at loads up to 300 g/m3 × h with high removal efficiencies, of more than 80%, reaching 33% higher EC than in the mesophilic reactor. With the addition of an organic phase, elimination capacities of α-pinene up to 2000 g/m3 × h were obtained in the mesophilic biotrickling filter at high inlet concentrations and at a constant inlet air flow of 0.3 m3/h. Similar results were obtained for the thermophilic biotrickling filter.
