Synergistic degradation performance of UV/TiO₂ photocatalysis and biotrickling filtration inoculated with Aspergillus sp. S1 for gaseous m‐xylene

Abstract

Background Biotricking filtration (BTF) based on absorption and biodegradation of waste gas by microorganisms in a biofilm can be used to degrade with difficulty hydrophobic volatile pollutants. Photocatalysis is a promising technology for the abatement of gaseous contaminants because of its nonselective oxidation of volatile organic compounds; however, photocatalysis technology has the limitations of high energy consumption and low mineralization efficiency. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of UV/TiO2 photocatalysis (PCO) pretreatment and BTF in treating gaseous m‐xylene. Results BTF incubated with a mold, Aspergillus sp. S1, was acclimated with m‐xylene as the sole carbon source. A combined system of PCO with BTF was developed to remove gaseous m‐xylene. The results showed that the startup period was shortened by 3 days in the PCO‐BTF combined system compared to that with BTF alone. The removal efficiency reached 73% and 91% for the BTF and PCO‐BTF systems respectively when the empty bed residence time was extended to 90 s. In addition, PCO‐BTF could withstand transient shock loading of m‐xylene of 5000 mg m−3 and gradually restore its decontamination performance. Conclusions PCO pretreatment was effective in the enhancement of the removal capacity of BTF for m‐xylene. The PCO‐BTF system proposed in this study provides an attractive alternative to abate hydrophobic volatile pollutants. The integration of PCO essentially prompted the capability of Aspergillus sp. S1 in the BTF unit, which paves the way for the treatment of gaseous waste at an industrial scale. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).