Control of Dimethyl Sulfide Emissions Using Biofiltration

Laboratory scale experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of a biofilter for eliminating dimethyl sulfide(DMS). A commercial compost/pine bark nugget mixture served as the biofilter material for the experiments. The gas flow rate and DMS concentration entering the filter were varied to study their effect on the biofilter efficiency. The operating parameters, such as the residence time, inlet concentration, pH, water content, and temperature, were all monitored throughout the filter operation. The kinetic dependence of the DMS removal along the column length was also studied to obtain a quantitative description of the DMS elimination. High DMS removal efficiencies(>95％) were obtained using the compost filter material seeded with activated sludge. DMS pollutant loading rates of up to 5.2 and 5.5 g-DMS/m$^3$/hr were effectively handled by the upflow and downflow biofilter columns, respectively. The macrokinetics of the DMS removal were found to be fractional-order diffusion-limited over the 9 to 25 ppm range of inlet concentrations tested. The upflow column had an average macrokinetic coefficient(K$\_$f/) of 0.0789 $\pm$ 0.0178 ppm$\^$$\sfrac{1}{2}$//sec, while the downflow column had an average coefficient of 0.0935 $\pm$ 0.0200 ppm$\^$$\sfrac{1}{2}$//sec. Shorter residence times resulted in a lower mass transfer of the pollutant from the gas phase to the aqueous liquid phase, thereby decreasing the efficiency.