Comparative assessment of the performance of one- and two-liquid phase biotrickling filters for the simultaneous abatement of gaseous mixture of methanol, α-pinene, and hydrogen sulfide.

A gaseous mixture of methanol (M), α-pinene (P), and hydrogen sulfide (H) was treated in one/two-liquid phase biotrickling filters (OLP/TLP-BTFs) at varying inlet concentrations and at an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 57 s. The performance of TLP-BTF [BTF (A)] improved significantly in terms of M and P removal due to the presence of silicone oil at 5% v/v. The maximum elimination capacities (ECs) of M, P, and H in BTF (A) were obtained as 309, 73, and 56 g m-3 h-1, respectively. While, the maximum ECs achieved in the BTF operated without silicone oil [BTF (B)] were 172, 28, and 21 g m-3 h-1 for M, P, and H removal, respectively. Increasing the inlet concentration of H from 32 to 337 ppm inhibited P removal in both the BTFs. The presence of silicone oil enhanced gas-liquid mass transfer, prevented the BTF from experiencing substrate inhibition effects and allowed reaching high ECs for M and P. The experiments showed promising results for the long-term operation of removal of M, P, and H mixture in a one-stage TLP-BTF with the decreasing negative effects of M and H on P degradation.