Fungal biofiltration of alpha-pinene: effects of temperature, relative humidity, and transient loads.

Full Abstract

Over the past decade much effort has been made to develop new carrier materials, more performant biocatalysts, and new types of bioreactors for waste gas treatment. In biofilters fungal biocatalysts are more resistant to acid and dry conditions and take up hydrophobic compounds from the gas phase more easily than wet bacterial biofilms. In the present study, a biofilter packed with a mixture of perlite and Pall rings and fed alpha-pinene-polluted air was inoculated with a new fungal isolate identified as Ophiostoma species. alpha-Pinene is a volatile pollutant typically found in waste gases from wood-related industries. The temperature of waste gas streams from pulp and paper industries containing alpha-pinene is usually higher than ambient temperature. Studies were undertaken here on the effect on performance of temperature changes in the range of 15-40 degrees C. The effect of temperature on biodegradation kinetics in continuous reactors was elucidated through equations derived from the Arrhenius formula. Moreover, the effects of the relative humidity (RH) of the inlet gas phase, transient loads (shock or starvation), and the nature of the nitrogen source on alpha-pinene removal were also studied in this research. The results suggest that the fungal biofilter appears to be an effective treatment process for the removal of alpha-pinene. The optimal conditions are:
temperature around 30 degrees C, RH of the inlet waste gas stream around 85%, and nitrate as nitrogen source. The fungal biofilter also showed a good potential to withstand shock loads and recovered rapidly its full performance after a 3-7 days starvation period.

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Author information

Author/s: Jin, Yaomin (Y); Guo, Ling (L); Veiga, María C (MC); Kennes, Christian (C);

Affiliation: Chemical Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of La Coruña, Rúa Alejandro de la Sota, 1, 15008 La Coruña, Spain.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Biotechnology and bioengineering (Biotechnol Bioeng), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Feb; vol 96 (issue 3) : pp 433-43

Dates: Created 2007/01/02; Completed 2007/03/09; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 17036365, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Air Pollutants - metabolism
Air Pollution - prevention & control
Ascomycota - growth & development
Biodegradation, Environmental
Bioreactors

Filtration
Hot Temperature
Humidity
Industrial Waste - prevention & control
Monoterpenes - metabolism

Associated Chemicals: Air Pollutants (0) ; Industrial Waste (0) ; Monoterpenes (0) ; alpha-pinene (80-56-8)

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