Reduction of Odour Nuisance of Industrial Plants – Biofiltering in Composting Plants

Abstract

Composting produces several hundred different substances. Among them, active fragrance compounds constitute a considerable number. Composting technology and the method of conducting the process are important elements. Due to the different ways of conducting the composting process, there are also areas of odour emissions as well as the volume of emissions. Depending on whether the process is conducted statically or dynamically, in a natural or artificial way and also in an open (e.g. field prism) or closed system (reactors, containers, encapsulated plots), the amount of odourant emitted will be uneven. One of the methods is the use of biofiltration. The biological filter for air purification is designed to remove volatile air pollutants leaving various installations. By using a suitable filter bed, total organic and inorganic carbon, sulfur and nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide can be reduced. They are part of the odours that emerge, for example, from a composting plant. The use of biofilter eliminates polluting emissions, which in practice means reducing the negative impact on the environment and neutralizing odours. The article presents the results of biogas analysis generated in the composting process and ecological methods of removing odorants in the biofiltration process. Two types of filling were used to fill the biofilter. Both are fully biodegradable. It has been shown that these fillings have a high impact on the development of biofilm, and thus on the reduction of pollution.

Assessment of the Efficiency of Biological Treatment of Gases from Municipal Waste Processing

“…The pH of the filter bed varied from 5.41 to 5.80 ( Table 2). The values are below the recommended level [6,16].…”

“…The filtering medium should be characterised by grain composition allowing for the equivalent diameter of its grains to be larger than 4 mm [16]. pH of the filling material should be within a range of 6-9 [6,16] (a decrease below such values frequently results in a decrease in biofiltration efficiency). Temperature in the filtering medium is related to the activity of microorganisms and temperature of the treated gas [6].…”

“…pH of the filling material should be within a range of 6-9 [6,16] (a decrease below such values frequently results in a decrease in biofiltration efficiency). Temperature in the filtering medium is related to the activity of microorganisms and temperature of the treated gas [6]. According to [14], optimum temperature values amount to 25-40 °C, and pursuant to [15], they should not exceed 50 ºC.…”

“…According to [14], optimum temperature values amount to 25-40 °C, and pursuant to [15], they should not exceed 50 ºC. The adopted optimum range is 25-40 °C [6]. According to [18], the optimum temperature of the process amounts to 37 °C.…”

“…Before the biofiltration process, gases should be moistened to the state of saturation [6], and their temperature should not exceed 60 °C. Its recommended range varies from the minimum above water freezing temperature and maximum of 40 °C [14].…”