• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.136-143
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• 2013

In this study, both transient behaviors of a biofilter system with improved design and a conventional biofilter were observed to perform the treatment of waste air containing malodor and volatile organic compound (VOC). Their behaviors of removal efficiency and treated concentration of malodor and VOC were compared each other. During 1st~7th stages of improved biofilter system operation it was observed that the order of treated ethanol concentration at each sampling port was switched due to the difference of microbe-population-distribution in spite of the difference of biofilter effective height. However, at 8th stage of its operation, the order of treated ethanol concentration at each sampling port was consistent to the order of biofilter effective height at each sampling port. The same was applied to the case of hydrogen sulfide, even though the difference of switched treated-hydrogen sulfide-concentrations was less than that of switched treated-ethanol-concentrations. The ethanol-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was ca. 96%, which was greater by 2% than that of the conventional biofilter. The transient behavior of treated hydrogen sulfide concentration of both biofilters were similar to each other. However, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide treated by the biofilter system with improved design was observed lower than that by the conventional biofilter. The hydrogen sulfide-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was higher by ca. 2% than that of the conventional biofilter. Therefore, the hydrogen sulfide-removal efficiency of the biofilter system with improved design was observed to be enhanced by the same as its ethanol-removal efficiency.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.127-135
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• 2013

In this study, both pressure drop and microbe-population-distribution were observed while running a novel biofilter system with improved design in which the biofilter system is composed of two, upper and lower biofilters with both equal feed-rates of up-flow and down-flow, respectively. Then they were compared with the pressure drop and microbe-population-distribution observed in a conventional biofilter of the same effective volume with unidirectional flow. The pressure drop-value of biofilter system with improved design turned out to be less at the incipient stage of run or steady-state long term operation by more than 40~80% of that of the conventional biofilter. The microbe-population-distribution was observed to be lower and higher at higher and lower column of biofilter, respectively, for both the conventional biofilter and the biofilter system with improved design. The microbe-media of waste-tire crumb showed much greater CFU counts than GAC. In the biofilter system with improved design, the $bottom{\rightarrow}up$ feeding of waste air showed greater microbe-population growth than the $top{\rightarrow}down$ feeding for both the microbe-media of waste-tire crumb and GAC. However, it was more prominent for the former than the latter. Comparing the microbe-population-distributions of both of the conventional biofilter and the biofilter system with improved design, the microbe-population of latter was distributed ca. 15 and 2.5 times more evenly for GAC and the media of waste-tire crumb, respectively, than that of former.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.12
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• pp.1327-1331
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• 2002

The cork have been preferred over the conventional materials, zeolite, ceramics, and lignite as a biofilter medium. During the 6 months of operation, the performance of the cork biofilter was considered good with 150ppm of mixture BTX vapor efficiencies greater than 90% at 60 second of EBCT. It was observed 56 % of removal efficiency under transition conditions at first stage, and then the removal efficiency was increased to above 90 %, and the sustainability of removal efficiency was maintained. At second stage, the performance of cork biofilter was not decreased 90 % efficiency with 150 ppm BTX at 30 sec. EBCT. The production of $CO_2$ due to microbial respiration was increased to the 40 % on the operation of cork biofilter.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.116-124
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• 2022

In this study, waste air containing ethanol and hydrogen sulfide, was treated by an integrated hybrid system composed of two alternatively-operating UV/photocatalytic reactor-process and biofilter processes of a biofilter system having two units with an improved design (R reactor) and a conventional biofilter (L reactor). Both a pressure drop (△p) per unit process of the integrated hybrid system and a microbe-population-distribution of each biofilter process were observed. The △p of the UV/photocatalytic reactor process turned out very negligible. The △p of the L reactor was observed to increase continuously to 4.0~5.0 mmH₂O (i.e., 5.0~6.25 mmH₂O/m). In case of R reactor, its △p showed the one below ca. 16~20% of the △p of the L reactor. Adopting such microbes-carrying biofilter media with high porosity as waste-tire crumb media, and the improved biofilter design, contributed to △p of this study, reduced by ca. 37~50% and 40~53%, respectively, from the reported △p of conventional biofilter packed with biofilter media of the mixture (50:50) of wood chip and wood bark. In addition, the △p of R reactor in this study, reduced by ca. 80% from the reported △p of conventional biofilter packed with biofilter media of the mixture (75:25) of scoria with high porosity and compost, was mainly attributed to adopting the improved biofilter design. On the other hand, in case of L reactor, the CFU counts in its lowest column was analyzed double as much as those in any other columns. However, in case of R reactor, its CFU counts were bigger by 50% than the one of L reactor and its microbes were evenly distributed at its higher and lower columns of R_dn reactor and R_up reactor. This phenomena was attributed to an even moisture distribution of 50~55% of R reactor at its higher and lower columns. Therefore, R reactor showed superb characteristics in terms of both △p and microbe-population-distribution, compared to L reactor.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.373-382
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• 2013

In this study, a biological odor treatment system was proposed to remove odor(foul smell) materials causing several problems in the closed sewage treatment plant. This odor treatment system was composed of a two-step biofilter system in one reactor. The two-step biofilter reactor was constructed with natural purification layer in upper part and artificial purification layer in lower part. The reed grasses of water purification plants were planted in the surface area and mixed porous ceramic media were filled with the lower part of biofilter reactor. By using the above experimental apparatus, the ammonia gas removal efficiency was attained to 98.3 % and the hydrogen sulfide gas removal efficiency was appeared more than 97.7 % which shows more effective than the conventional odor removal process.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.07a
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• pp.85-106
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• 2004

Styrene as volatile organic compounds(VOC) has come under strict regulatory control as they cause serious health and environmental problems. Biofiltration offers a number of economical and environmental advantages over conventional technologies, such as incineration, catalytic adsorption, and chemical scrubbing. In this presentation, recent progresses on the development of lab-scale biofilter for the treatment of gas-phase styrene are reviewed, The potentials of commercialization of biofilter systems are also discussed.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 1999

The objective of this study is to recover the contaminated ditch by using a biofilter filled up with waste-concrete media and vegetation bed. Two systems were tested for elimination of organic compounds, turbidity, nitrogen and phosphate. System 1 is three-stage system which consisted of one biofilter and two vegetation bed, system 2 has three-stage system consisted of one biofilter, one vegetation bed (four bed), and one media trench operated in series. In system 1, HRT of biofilter was 4 hour, and Oenanthe javanica was planted in two vegetation bed. In system 2, HRT of biofilter was varied 2 hours and Persicaria chinensis was planted on the top of the biofilter. And Oenanthe javanica, Hydrocharis asiatica, Salvinia natans were planted in four bed of a vegetation bed and the second vegetation bed of system 1 was rebuilt to a media trench bed. The elimination rate of BOD and turbidity was over 90% in both systems. The mean elimination rates 40~50%(system 1), 30~40%(system 2) for T-N and 40~50% (system 1), 30~40%(system 2)for T-P. T-N and T-P elimination performance of system 1 was a little higher(10%) than that of system 2. Results showed that vegetation bed are not efficient in reducing T-N and T-P. It was considered that HRT of vegetation bed of both systems was much lower(1~2hr) than that of conventional system(5~20days).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.611-614
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• 2003

A Korean Type Biofilter system combined with a conventional anoxic tank(septic tank) process was investigated in regard to its feasibility for removing organic as well as nutrients from the rural wastewater in Korea. At recirculation, the removal rate in BOD and SS increased slightly as much as 93 and 95% compared with non-recirculation system. On the other hand, removal rates of the total nitrogen(T-N) and total phosphorous(T-P) in recirculation system increased significantly as much as 62 and 57%, respectively compared with non-recirculation system. The recirculation system provides sufficient treatment to improve the removal rate in T-N and T-P.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.100-115
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• 2022

In this study, integrated hybrid system (IHS) composed of two alternatively-operating UV/photocatalytic reactor (AOPR) process and biofilter processes of a biofilter system having two units (i.e., R_up and R_dn) with an improved design (R reactor) and a conventional biofilter (L reactor) was constructed, and its transient behavior was observed to perform the successful treatment of waste air containing ethanol and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). At the IHS-operating stages of HA1, HA2 and HA3T of reversed feed direction, the AOPR process showed not only ethanol-removal efficiencies of 55, 50 and 45%, respectively, but also H₂S-removal efficiencies of 70, 60 and 37%, respectively. In particular, a drastic decrease of H₂S-removal efficiency at the stage of HA3T was observed due to a doubling of H₂S-inlet concentration fed to AOPR from 10 ppmv to 20 ppmv at the stage of HA3T. The order of ethanol-breakthroughs and the order of the magnitude of ethanol-removal efficiencies at the sampling ports of each unit of R reactor at the stages of HA1, HB1, HA2, HB2, and the first half of HA3T, were reversed, respectively, at the stages of the second half of HA3T and HB3T. In case of H₂S, R reactor did not show H₂S-breakthrough as prominent as the ethanol-breakthrough, but showed the trend similar to the ethanol-breakthrough.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.250-257
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• 2006

The objective of this study is to propose an alternative process for the small sewage treatment plants in rural communities. A biofilter has been used for biological wastewater treatment, which is becoming the alternative to the conventional activated sludge system. The proposed process used in this study, which is packed with floating media (i.e. expanded polystylene), has advantages of biofilter system and alternative flow system and they are incorporated into one process. Pilot and bench scale studies were performed using domestic wastewater. In the results of pilot plant study, it was observed that the stable effluent water quality was achieved and it met the present effluent criteria of suspended solid (SS), organic matters, T-N and T-P. In the study for determination of the cycle of backwashing, it was observed that the cycle of backwashing depended on BOD loading rates of influents. In the BOD loading rates of $0.5kg\;BOD/m^3{\cdot}day$ and $1.0kg\;BOD/m^3{\cdot}day$, the backwashing cycle of 28 hour and 16 hour were needed, respectively. The optimum backwashing time was 120~80 seconds at the media expansion rate of 50%. In the removal of SS, organic matters, T-N and T-P, SS removal was rather achieved by physical filtration than biological mechanism and the removal of organic matters except for SS, T-N and T-P were mainly rather achieved by biological mechanism than physical filtration. In bench-scale study, the effects of recirculation rate was investigated on removal of SS, TCOD, T-N and T-P. It was observed that the recirculation made removal efficiencies of SS, TCOD, T-N and T-P increased. Especially, in T-N removal, the increase of T-N removal efficiency of 40% was observed in the reicirculation rate of 1Q compared with 0Q.