Enhanced removal of mixed VOCs with different hydrophobicities by Tween 20 in a biotrickling filter: Kinetic analysis and biofilm characteristics

Ya Deng; Guangfeng Yang; Piet N L Lens; Yaxue He; Lingxiang Qie; Xingyu Shen; Jianmeng Chen; Zhuowei Cheng; Dongzhi Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131063

Enhanced removal of mixed VOCs with different hydrophobicities by Tween 20 in a biotrickling filter: Kinetic analysis and biofilm characteristics

J Hazard Mater. 2023 May 15:450:131063. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131063. Epub 2023 Feb 21.

Authors

Ya Deng¹, Guangfeng Yang², Piet N L Lens³, Yaxue He⁴, Lingxiang Qie⁵, Xingyu Shen², Jianmeng Chen⁴, Zhuowei Cheng⁵, Dongzhi Chen⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Petrochemical Engineering and Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China; College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China.
² School of Petrochemical Engineering and Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China.
³ National University of Ireland, Galway H91TK33, Ireland.
⁴ School of Petrochemical Engineering and Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China; Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China.
⁵ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China.
⁶ School of Petrochemical Engineering and Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China; Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China. Electronic address: cdz@zjut.edu.cn.

PMID: 36867905
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131063

Abstract

Mass transfer limitation usually causes the poor performance of biotrickling filters (BTFs) for the treatment of hydrophobic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during long-term operation. In this study, two identical lab-scale BTFs were established to remove a mixture of n-hexane and dichloromethane (DCM) gases using non-ionic surfactant Tween 20 by Pseudomonas mendocina NX-1 and Methylobacterium rhodesianum H13. A low pressure drop (≤110 Pa) and a rapid biomass accumulation (17.1 mg g^-1) were observed in the presence of Tween 20 during the startup period (30 d). The removal efficiency (RE) of n-hexane was enhanced by 15.0%- 20.5% while DCM was completely removed with the inlet concentration (IC) of 300 mg·m^-3 at different empty bed residence times in the Tween 20 added BTF. The viable cells and the relative hydrophobicity of the biofilm were increased under the action of Tween 20, which facilitated the mass transfer and enhanced the metabolic utilization of pollutants by microbes. Besides, Tween 20 addition enhanced the biofilm formation processes including the increased extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) secretion, biofilm roughness and biofilm adhesion. The kinetic model simulated the removal performance of the BTF with Tween 20 for the mixed hydrophobic VOCs, and the goodness-of-fit was above 0.9.

Keywords: Biotrickling filter; Dichloromethane; Kinetic model; Tween 20; n-Hexane.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Biodegradation, Environmental
Biofilms
Bioreactors
Extracellular Polymeric Substance Matrix / chemistry
Filtration
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Kinetics
Polysorbates
Volatile Organic Compounds* / analysis

Substances

n-hexane
Polysorbates
Volatile Organic Compounds
Air Pollutants