Development and Validations of a Two-Parameter Transient Biofilter Model

Biofiltration is an efficient and well-known bio-technology process that utilizes microorganisms to metabolize VOCs and odor emissions from industrial facilities. Biofiltration has been considered a robust alternative to physiochemical and conventional treatment methods. Steady-state and transient biofilter mathematical models are necessary to design, scale-up and to predict performance under different practical operating conditions. In this work, a two-parameter transient biofilter model is developed and the model is solved analytically. The transient model asymptotically reaches well-known steady-state model in the literature. Sensitivity analysis of the model is used to identify the key parameters. The model is validated with two different experimental studies of methane biofiltration data obtained from the literature. When compared, the error between model predictions and experimental data ranged from -2.1% to +3.0% in one study with R 2 value of 0.97. The second experimental study selected involved two biofilters (BF1- fresh nutrient, BF2-recycled nutrient) with different inlet loads; for BF1 the error between model predictions and experimental data ranged from -5.8% to 14.3% with R 2 value of 0.83 and for BF2 from 3.1% to 11.9% with R 2 value of 0.95, respectively. Furthermore, a reasonable agreement is also found between this newly developed model with a published model in the literature. This simple validated two-parameter analytical transient model may be easily employed in practice to predict removal performance of VOCs under different operating conditions, analyze biofiltration process dynamic and also to explore design modifications that enhance VOC removal.