Long-term biofiltration of gaseous N,N-dimethylformamide: Operational performance and microbial diversity analysis at different conditions

Paula Alejandra Lamprea Pineda; Kristof Demeestere; Manuel Toledo; Nico Boon; Herman Van Langenhove; Christophe Walgraeve

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130767

Long-term biofiltration of gaseous N,N-dimethylformamide: Operational performance and microbial diversity analysis at different conditions

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Apr 5:447:130767. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130767. Epub 2023 Jan 10.

Authors

Paula Alejandra Lamprea Pineda¹, Kristof Demeestere², Manuel Toledo³, Nico Boon⁴, Herman Van Langenhove⁵, Christophe Walgraeve⁶

Affiliations

¹ Research Group EnVOC, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: PaulaAlejandra.LampreaPineda@UGent.be.
² Research Group EnVOC, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Kristof.Demeestere@UGent.be.
³ Chemical Engineering Department, University of Córdoba, Campus Universitario de Rabanales, Ctra. N-IV, Km 396, 14071, Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address: z22topam@uco.es.
⁴ Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology - CMET, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Nico.Boon@UGent.be.
⁵ Research Group EnVOC, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Herman.VanLangenhove@UGent.be.
⁶ Research Group EnVOC, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Christophe.Walgraeve@UGent.be.

PMID: 36640506
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.130767

Abstract

N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an organic solvent produced in large quantities worldwide. It is considered as a hazardous air pollutant and its emission should be controlled. However, only a limited number of studies have been performed on the removal of gaseous DMF by biological technologies. In this paper, we evaluate the removal of DMF under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions in a lab-scale biofilter for 472 days. The results show that, at ambient temperature, the biofilter achieved an average removal efficiency (RE) of 99.7 ± 0.3 % at Inlet Loads (ILs) up to 297 ± 52 g DFM m^-3 h^-1 (Empty Bed Residence Time (EBRTs) of 10.7 s). However, a decrease in EBRT (6.4 s) led to an unstable outlet concentration and, thus, to a drop in the biofilter performance (average RE: 90 ± 9 %). Moreover, an increase in temperature up to 65 °C led to a gradual decrease in RE (till 91 ± 7 %). Microbial analysis indicates that once the microorganisms encountered DMF, Rhizobiaceae dominated followed by Alcaligenaceae. Afterwards, a strong decrease in Rhizobiaceae was observed at every increase in temperature, and at 65 °C, the taxa were more heterogeneous. Overall, our experimental results indicate that biofiltration is a promising technique to remove DMF from waste gas streams.

Keywords: Biofiltration; DMF; Mesophilic; Microbial communities; SIFT-MS; Thermophilic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Biodegradation, Environmental
Dimethylformamide
Filtration / methods
Gases* / analysis
Temperature

Substances

Gases
Dimethylformamide
Air Pollutants