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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Effect of pre-treatments based on UV photocatalysis and photo-oxidation on toluene biofiltration performance

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BACKGROUND: The integration of UV photocatalysis and biofiltration seems to be a promising combination of technologies for the removal of hydrophobic and poorly biodegradable air pollutants. The influence of pre-treatments based on UV254 nm photocatalysis and photo-oxidation on the biofiltration of toluene as a target compound was evaluated in a controlled long-term experimental study using different system configurations: a standalone biofilter, a combined UV photocatalytic reactor-biofilter, and a combined UV photo-oxidation reactor (without catalyst)-biofilter. RESULTS: Under the operational conditions used (residence time of 2.7 s and toluene concentrations 600–1200 mg C m−3), relatively low removal efficiencies (6–3%) were reached in the photocatalytic reactor and no degradation of toluene was found when the photo-oxidation reactor was operated without catalyst. A noticeable improvement in the performance of the biofilter combined with a photocatalytic reactor was observed, and the elimination capacity of the biological process increased by more than 12 g C h−1 m−3 at the inlet loads studied of 50–100 g C h−1 m−3. No positive effect on toluene removal was observed for the combination of UV photoreactor and biofilter. CONCLUSIONS: Biofilter pre-treatment based on UV254 nm photocatalysis showed promising results for the removal of hydrophobic and recalcitrant air pollutants, providing synergistic improvement in the removal of toluene. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry