Odor and volatile organic compounds biotreatment using compact trickle bed bioreactors (CTBB) in a wastewater treatment plant

Anita Parzentna-Gabor; Damian Kasperczyk; Krzysztof Barbusiński; Eldon R Rene; Krzysztof Urbaniec

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128876

Odor and volatile organic compounds biotreatment using compact trickle bed bioreactors (CTBB) in a wastewater treatment plant

Bioresour Technol. 2023 May:376:128876. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128876. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Authors

Anita Parzentna-Gabor¹, Damian Kasperczyk², Krzysztof Barbusiński³, Eldon R Rene⁴, Krzysztof Urbaniec⁵

Affiliations

¹ Ekoinwentyka Ltd., Szyb Walenty 26, 41-700 Ruda Śląska, Poland; Department of Water and Wastewater Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland.
² Ekoinwentyka Ltd., Szyb Walenty 26, 41-700 Ruda Śląska, Poland. Electronic address: biuro@ekoinwentyka.pl.
³ Department of Water and Wastewater Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland.
⁴ Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2601DA Delft, the Netherlands.
⁵ Faculty of Civil Engineering, Mechanics and Petrochemistry, Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Płock, Poland.

PMID: 36921640
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.128876

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to optimize and maximize the impacts of odor and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) biodegradation in a wastewater treatment plant utilizing a pilot-scale compact trickle bed bioreactor (CTBB). A CTBB was built and tested for its long-term performance during which gases were supplied from the tank containing semi-liquid fats, oils, and fat waste. The concentrations of pollutants ranged from 0 to 140.75 mg/m³ H₂S, 0 to 2500 mg/m³ VOCs, and 0 to 21.5 mg/m³ NH₃. The CTBB was tested at different gas flow rates and at two pH values for the liquid phase: pH = 7.0 and 5.0. In the liquid phase, the pollutant removal efficiency was higher at pH = 7.0 than at pH = 5.0. Overall, the removal efficiency was between 81.5 % and 99.5 % for the VOCs and 87.5 % and 98.9 % for H₂S, while NH₃ removals were >99 %.

Keywords: Biodegradation; Compact trickle bed bioreactor; Odor; Volatile organic compound; Wastewater treatment plant.

MeSH terms

Bioreactors
Environmental Pollutants*
Filtration
Odorants
Volatile Organic Compounds*
Water Purification*

Substances

Volatile Organic Compounds
Environmental Pollutants