Dynamic Behavior of Compost Biofilters During Periods of Starvation and Fluctuating Hydrogen Sulfide Loadings

摘要

To understand transient-state performance of biofilters and the phenomena occurring during changes and interruptions in their operating conditions, dynamic behavior of biofilters exposed to shock loadings of contaminant (H_2S) and periods of starvation has been investigated. The initial startup and the response of the biofilters to step changes in the H_2S concentration and air-loading rate were also presented and discussed. Biofilters responded very effectively to H_2S concentration spikes at H_2S mass loading rates of 19.8-48.0g/m~3h by rapidly recovering their original removal rates within 1.2-20.2 min. The recovery time after each spike showed a positive correlation to the total amount of H_2S loadings during the spike. Biofilters showed capabilities of withstanding 11-28 days of starvations and recovered their full performances after the starvations without any evident lag period.