Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 25:5372, 2005 Copyright c Taylor & Francis Inc.

ISSN: 0738-8551 print / 1549-7801 online DOI: 10.1080/07388550590935814

Bioltration of Air: A Review

Marie-Caroline Delhomenie and Michele ` Heitz Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universite de Sherbrooke, Canada

ABSTRACT In this paper we present a review of the existing air pollution control technologies (APCT), when used essentially for the elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The biotechnologies referred to, bioscrubbers, biotrickling lters and biolters, are also described. A more detailed review of bioltration is proposed, presenting the most recent and latest developments achieved in the eld of bioprocessing. In particular, the inuence of the lter bed, the polluted air owrates, the pollutants, the pressure drop, bed moisture content, temperature, nutrients, pH and the microorganisms are reviewed. Models of bioltration are also presented.
KEYWORDS bioltration, air treatment, air pollution control, biotechnologies, volatile
organic compounds.

CONTEXT
The recent pollutant release inventories, published by various governments and environmental organizations, demonstrate that, since the beginning of the 20th century, emissions of atmospheric pollutants in North America have been in continual increase. Thus, in 2000 in Canada, some 41 Mt of pollutants (particulate matter, SOX , NOX , COX and volatile organic compoundsVOC) were released to atmosphere, representing about 1.3 t/person living in Canada. The industrial sector alone was responsible for 13% of these releases, which contained about 7% of VOC (Environnement Canada, 2000). On another scale, in 2002, the USA emitted some 150 Mt of pollutants (0.5 t/person), containing 10.5% of VOC, mostly produced and released by the industries (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2003). Most VOC emitted to the atmosphere are likely to be harmful to human health (generating nausea, headaches, irritation and affecting the nervous and breathing systems, initiating cancers, etc.), and they also contribute to substantial damage on fauna and ora (Barnes, 1998). In addition to their toxic effects, VOC families, such as the chlorouorocarbons (CFCs), present characteristics of greenhouse effect gases. Some VOC (freons, halons, etc.) are directly involved in the degradation of the stratospheric ozone layer, the natural lter for ultraviolet radiation, whereas other VOC, combined with NOX , are precursors for the tropospheric ozone layer formation, which causes the urban smog visible above large agglomerations (Barnes, 1998): Sunlight + VOC + NOX + air/O2 photosmog
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` Address correspondence to Michele Heitz, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Universite QC, J1K 2R1, Canada. E-mail: Michele.Heitz@USherbrooke.ca

(1)

All of this data illustrate the fact that technological short-term depollution solutions must be developed and applied to reduce the amplitude of these emissions. Concerning the VOC emissions problem, existing depollution measures are of three orders: 1. to ban the utilization of certain VOC in industrial processes (case for the benzene and freons); 2. to review and modify existing processes to reduce their associated VOC emissions and to make them less polluting (by installation of recycling systems, for example); 3. to install depollution systems downstream of the emitting sites. This latter category of depollution solutions will form the subject of the remainder of this work. A brief review of the air pollution control technologies (APCT), as applied to VOC reduction, will be presented. Then, among the various proposed control technologies, the applicable biotechnologies will be principally discussed, with the emphasis placed largely on the application of bioltration.

r chemical or photochemical oxidation technologies. r biotechnologies: biotrickling lter, bioscrubber, and

biolter. Table 1 presents some characteristics of the main APCT, as applied to the VOC elimination (Hermia and Vigneron, 1993; Ruddy and Carroll, 1993; van der Vaart et al., 1994; Huang et al., 1997; Crocker and Schnelle, 1998; Goralski et al., 1998; Sylvester et al., 1998; Hurashima and Chang, 2000; Degr` eve et al., 2001; Wang et al., 2001). The choice of a well-adapted process depends on the operating conditions (ow rate, VOC concentrations, temperature, humidity, etc.) and on the pollutants physico-chemical characteristics (solubility, phase transition points, biodegradability level, inammability, etc.) (Crocker and Schnelle, 1998). Figure 1 presents the application limits (ow rateVOC concentration) of the different APCT (Juteau, 1997; Crocker and Schnelle, 1998; Devinny et al., 1999). As indicated in Table 1 and Figure 1, biological processes constitute pertinent ways for the elimination of biodegradable VOC (alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, aromatic compounds, etc.) emitted at low to moderate concentrations (1 ppm to 1000 ppm) (Devinny and Hodge, 1995; Kim, 2004). The industries mainly concerned with depollution biotechnologies are chemistry, petrochemistry, pulp and paper, metallurgy, mining and energy production (Bailey and Ollis, 1986; Robert and Pilon, 2000). In the following sections, bioprocesses (bioscrubber, biotrickling lter and biolter) are generally described, with a more detailed section dedicated to bioltration.

DEPOLLUTION TECHNOLOGIES
Due both to the diversity and to the quantities of VOC released into the atmosphere, a variety of APCT have been developed. The operating process for all of these APCT involves either one or several physicochemical air/contaminant separation steps. The main differences between the APCT are related to the treatment of pollutants, following the separation procedure for their recovery (recycling) or destruction. The main APCT giving rise to recovery and recycling of VOC are the following:

r phase transfer technologies: adsorption and absorption. r VOC concentration technologies: condensation, cryocondensation and membrane processes. These technologies permit the extraction of VOC from the initial gas phase, and to then concentrate them. Processes leading to the partial or total elimination of VOC involve the use of more or less drastic oxidative ways:

THE BIOTECHNOLOGIES
The particular interest of these biotechnologies is that they do not utilize energy other than the capacity of microorganisms to metabolize a wide range of VOC: biocatalytic oxidation of pollutants. The catalysts are heterotrophic microbial strains (bacteria, fungi) that are able to utilize VOC in two ways:

r contaminants, oxidized in the course of the catabolic r contaminants are also a source of available carbon for
the anabolic processes, such as cell growth.
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r combustion processes: incineration and catalytic

oxidation.
M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

pathway (respiratory chain) are a source of energy;

TABLE 1 Characteristics, advantages and drawbacks of the main APCT applied to VOC elimination.
Technology Adsorption Principle and characteristics Transfer of VOC to a porous solid phase, xed or uidized Materials: activated carbons, zeolites and polymers Ex.: Activated carbon adsorbs 1030% VOC on a weight basis Doubled installations: adsorptiondesorption cycles Operating temperature <5060 C: ignition risks may be present Thermal oxidation of VOC 760 < Temperature < 1200 C 0.3 < Residence time < 2 s VOC concentration < 25% of explosion limit Required O2 level 10% Performances and limitations Conversion: 9099% Possible recovery of VOC (desorption) Can accept variations of owrates and shutdown periods But . . . Treatments for adsorbent regeneration are required Moisture level of efuents: <50% Pressure drop Bed poisoning problems with certain VOC Conversion: 9899.5% Possible energy recovery Elimination of halogenated or sulfurated VOC with adequate, additional equipment But . . . High investment and operating costs Toxic by-products: CO, NOX , dioxins, furans Efciency for low VOC concentrations Conversion: 9099% Less energy required than incineration and less toxic by-products But . . . Catalyst deactivation problems (clogging, poisoning, overheating) Disposal of used catalyst Combustion by-products Costs/(m3 h1 ) air Investment: US $15120 Operation: US $1035

Incineration

Investment: US $10450 Operation: US $20150 (depends on the quantity of recovered energy)

Catalytic oxidation

Absorption

Condensation

Thermal, catalytic oxidation of VOC 300 < Temperature < 650 C 0.07 < Residence time < 1 s Catalysts: noble metals (Pt, Pd, Rh) on supports (alumina, other ceramics), or metal oxides (Cu, Ti, Ni, Mn, etc.) Catalyst life time: 25 years Usable VOC concentration: far lower than the explosion limit Required O2 level 2% Transfer of the VOC to a liquid phase Plate tower, bubble column, packed tower, atomizer Solvents: water (with adjusted pH), high boiling-point hydrocarbons, amines, etc. Counter-current operation ( the VOC transfer rate) Liquefaction of high boiling-point VOC (>38 C) via cooling and/or compression Cooling/cryogenic systems: water (5 C), brine ( 35 C), liquid nitrogen ( 185 C)

Fixed catalyst Investment: US $20250 Operation: US $1075 Fluidized catalyst Investment: US $35220 Operation: US $1590

Conversion: 9098% Possible recovery and valorization of the dissolved VOC with downstream treatments But . . . Inadequate for VOC of low solubility Production of waste water Conversion: 5099% A recovery and valorization way But . . . Well adapted to saturated VOC only Disposal of condensates Problems of frost deposits

Investment: US $1570 Operation: US $25120

Investment: US $1080 Operation: US $20120

(Continued on next page)

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Bioltration of Air

TABLE 1 Characteristics, advantages and drawbacks of the main APCT applied to VOC elimination. (Continued)
Technology Membranes Principle and characteristics Separation of gas mixtures through semi-permeables membranes Materials: polymers (hollow bers, silicones), porous ceramics Gas ow compressed before membrane separation Performances and limitations Conversion: 5098% VOC are concentrated 5100 times, and valorization (recycle) possible Selective membranes, resistant to halogenated VOC But . . . Pressure drop High operating pressures Membrane cleaning required Conversion: 9098% Moderate energetic costs But . . . Inadequate for halogenated VOC Deposit of oxidation by-products on the catalysts surface (cleaning) Complex systems Conversion: 8095% Moderate installation and operating costs Low maintenance But . . . Strict control of biological parameters (pH temperature, moisture level, nutrients, etc.) Large spaces required for biolters Pressure drop problems Costs/(m3 h1 ) air Not available

UV/photochemical oxidation

Complete oxidation by oxygenated oxidizers (O3 , H2 O2 ), and initiated by UV radiation Possible utilization of photocatalysts (TiO2 , Fex Oy , etc.) Operating temperature: ambient Biocatalytic oxidation of VOC 3 congurations: biolters (most frequent), biotrickling lters and bioscrubbers Biocatalysts: microorganisms (bacteria, fungi) 30 s < Residence time < several min Operating temperature: 2040 C Filter-bed life time: 35 years

Not available

Biotechnologies (detailed later)

Investment: US $1070 Operation: US $310

The products of the biological reactions engaged in these bioreactors are essentially: carbon dioxide, water, inorganic byproducts (e.g. HCl, SOX ) related to the presence of heteroatoms in the VOC squeleton (Cl, S, N, etc.), new cellular matter, and organic byproducts (metabolites such as exopolymers). Biooxidations are exothermic reactions (some kcal/mol VOC oxidized), thus the associated heat release is also a biodegradation reaction product (Scriban, 1993). The effective use of biocatalysts requires strict control of their environment, normally the biological growth medium. There are some critical parameters that are common to the 3 types of bioreactors: (a) temperature (optimum between 20 and 35 C for a mesophilic microora) (Leson and Winer, 1991; Swanson and Loehr, 1997), (b) pH (optimum at about 7) (Leson and Winer, 1991; Leson, 1998), (c) moisture content in the growth medium, and (d) availability of essential, non-carbon nutrients (N, P, K, S and micronutrients).
M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

The main differences between the three bioreactors come from their design and mode of operation: microorganisms conditioning, respective disposal of uid phases (gas and liquid), presence or absence of stationary solid phases. Table 2 presents the technical characteristics of the three bioprocesses.

THE BIOSCRUBBER
The bioscrubber, as represented in Figure 2, consists of two subunits: 1) an absorption tower and 2) a bioreactor. In the absorption unit, input gaseous contaminants are transferred to a dispersed liquid phase (aerosol). Gas and liquid phases ow counter-currently within the column, which may contain a packing. Nevertheless, the addition of inert packing (structured ceramic for example) provides for increased transfer surface between the VOC and the aqueous phase (Kellner and Flauger, 1998). The washed gaseous phase
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FIGURE 1 Application limits (ow rateVOC concentration) of different APCT, based on references of Crocker and Schnelle, 1998;
Juteau, 1997, and Devinny et al., 1998.

is released at the top of the column whereas the separated contaminated liquid phase is pumped towards an agitated, aerated bioreactor. This reactor contains the degrading microbial strains suspended in the aqueous phase, and the nutrients essential for their growth and maintenance. Most of the presently operating bioscrubbers are inoculated with activated sludge, derived from wastewater treatment plants, for example (Ottengraf,

1987). In some cases, bioreactors are directly inoculated with specic degrading strains. The residence times for aqueous solutions in bioreactors range between 20 and 40 days. After a treatment step (ltration, sedimentation of biomass), part of the waste solution may be recycled in the absorption unit while part of the sedimented biomass may be reintroduced into the bioreactor.

TABLE 2 The technical characteristics of bioscrubbers, biotrickling lters and biolters.

Bioprocess Bioscrubber Microorganisms Suspended in the bioreactor, in the aqueous growth medium Immobilized on the ltering material Liquid phase Mobile Continuously dispersed Recycled Mobile Continuous trickling over the lter bed Possible recycling Occasional bed irrigation with nutrient solutions Depollution step VOC/air separation within the absorption column VOC oxidation in the aerated bioreactor In the lter bed In the biolm

Biotrickling lter

Biolter

Immobilized on the ltering material

In the lter bed In the biolm

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Bioltration of Air

FIGURE 2 Bioscrubber description.

FIGURE 3 Biotrickling lter description.

The advantages of bioscrubbers are as follows:

r operational stability and good control of the biologr bioscrubbers do not generate high pressure drops r their installation does not require large spaces.
However, the major limitations of bioscrubbers are: (Rho, 2000); ical parameters (pH, nutrients);

r bioscrubbers are adapted to treat readily soluble

VOC (alcohols, ketones), with low Henry coefcients (<0.01), and at concentrations in the gaseous phase of less than 5 g m3 (Kellner and Flauger, 1998); r only quite low specic surface areas are available for gas/liquid transfer (generally <300 m1 ); r production of a sedimented sludge at the bottom of the bioreactor; r production of waste water. Some recent studies show that the addition of emulsifying agents (silicon oil, phthalate) in the aqueous solution can signicantly improve the elimination of less soluble compounds, because they favor the VOC mass transfer from gas to liquid phases (Mortgat, 2001). Despite this progress, the utilization of bioscrubbers still remains rare.

THE BIOTRICKLING FILTER

The description of a typical biotrickling lter is provided in Figure 3. In such a lter, the gas ows through a
M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

xed-bed, which is continuously irrigated with an aqueous solution containing the nutrients required by the biological system. Several studies have shown that the choice of a co- or counter-current conguration for liquid and gaseous phases does not inuence the biodegradation performance (Cox and Deshusses, 1998). Microorganisms are immobilized on the packing material. The pollutants are initially absorbed by the aqueous lm that surrounds the biological layers (biolm), then the biodegradation reaction takes place within the biolm that gradually develops on the bed particles. The ltering materials have to (1) facilitate the gas and liquid ows through the bed and the gas/biolm transfers, (2) favor the development of the microora, and (3) resist crushing and compaction. Biotrickling lter packings that best meet these specications are made from inert materials such as: structured plastics, resins, ceramics, celite, polyurethane foam (Yamashita and Kitagawa, 1998), lava rock (Sorial et al., 1995; Loy et al., 1997). However, most of these materials present limited specic surface areas (between 100 and 300 m1 ) (Rho, 2000), with some cases >1000 m1 for polyurethane based beds. As they are made from inert or synthetic materials, biotrickling lters need to be inoculated, most of the time with activated sludge (Oh and Bartha, 1997; Lu et al., 2000). Due to the permanent trickling mechanism, biotrickling lters are cousins of bioscrubbers. In this way, they are more adapted for the elimination of quite soluble VOC. Nevertheless, as the contact between microorganisms and pollutants occurs simultaneously to
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the absorption step (Cox and Deshusses, 1998), the solubility specications are less drastic than for bioscrubbers (Henry coefcient <0.1) (van Groenestijn and Hesselink, 1993), and the VOC inlet concentrations are generally less than 0.5 g m3 . Moreover, the continuous distribution of a nutrient solution facilitates the control of the biological operating parameters (nutrients, pH). Further, as the contact between the microorganisms and the pollutants occurs once the VOC have diffused in the liquid lm, the ow rate and the recycling rate of the liquid phase, through the lter bed, are recognized to be critical parameters of biotrickling lters. Indeed, some authors have suggested that an increase of the liquid ow rate should involve a proportional increase of the active exchange surface, and then improve the oxidation rate (Pedersen and Arvin, 1995; Zhu and Suidan, 1999). However, other researchers have shown that maintaining a minimum water and nutrient supply is sufcient to reach better performance (Deheyder et al., 1994; Thalasso et al., 1996; Lu et al., 2002). In addition, as the distribution and the recycling of nutrient solutions generate energy costs, other studies suggest that the optimum recycling and distribution ow rates have to be found experimentally and on a case-by-case basis (Diks and Ottengraf, 1991; Dolng et al., 1993; Kennes and Thalasso, 1998). The major drawback of biotrickling lters is the accumulation of excess biomass in the lter bed. Some authors have demonstrated that, in the course of the process, the biolm thickness can achieve several millimeters (Janni et al., 2001; Cohen, 2001), which can cause problems that lead to performance loss (Alonso et al., 1997): pressure drop increases, bed channeling, and the creation of anaerobic zones. Several studies have attempted to develop solutions to clogging problems. The proposed methods are of three types: mechanical, chemical or biological. Most of mechanical treatments consist of bed stirring (Wubker et al., 1997; Laurenzis et al., 1998) or bed backwashings with water (counter-current washings), which permits the draining of excess accumulated biomass (Smith et al., 1996). The objectives of the chemical treatments are to dissociate the chemical bindings between biomass and bed particles surfaces, or to damage the biomass by creating nutrients or water deciencies, or by utilizing disinfect ing reagents (Diks et al., 1994; Schonduve et al., 1996; Cox and Deshusses, 1999; Armon et al., 2000; Chen and Stewart, 2000). Biological methods utilize biomass predators, such as protozoa (Cox and Deshusses, 1997).
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Amongst all of these methods, the backwashings with water are the most efcient and certainly the least drastic for the ecosystem (Cai et al., 2004). Nevertheless, the biotrickling lter technology is still employed to a lesser extent than bioltration, which is certainly related to its more consequential operating costs and to the VOC solubility restrictions.

THE BIOFILTER
A biolter, as depicted in Figure 4, is a xed-bed bioreactor, in which degrading microorganisms are immobilized. The contaminated gases ow through the porous material and the VOC biological oxidation occurs after they have diffused into the biolm, synthesized by the microora. Two biolter congurations exist:

r the open designed biolters, with ascending gas ows,

installed outside because they require large spaces, and therefore exposed to climate changes. r the enclosed designed biolters need more restricted volumes than the open conguration; they are often installed in closed rooms, and they can employ either ascending or descending gas ows (Ottengraf, 1986). The most important physical, chemical and biological parameters inuencing the bioltration process are described in the following sections.

FIGURE 4 Biolter description.

Bioltration of Air

Filter Bed
The lter bed constitutes the heart of the bioltration process because it provides the support for microbial growth. Bohn (Bohn, 1996) has established a list of characteristics that suitable ltering materials should present. The following criteria are among the more important of the required specications: 1. a high specic surface area, which is favorable to microora establishment and maintenance, and to gas/biolm exchange; 2. a high porosity to facilitate gas convection and to promote the homogeneous distribution of gases throughout the bed; 3. a good water retention capacity to avoid bed desiccation; 4. the presence and availability of intrinsic nutrients; 5. the presence of a dense and diverse indigenous microora. Peats, soils, composts, and at a smaller scale wood chips, are the most frequently employed basic materials in bioltration, because they satisfy most of the required criteria, and they are widely available and at low cost. The main advantage of soils is that they offer a rich and varied microora. However, they contain only a few intrinsic nutrients, they present low specic surface areas and they generate high pressure drops (Swanson and Loehr, 1997). Peat is also an interesting material because it contains high amounts of organic matter, it presents high specic surface area, a good water holding capacity and a good permeability. However, peat contains neither high levels of mineral nutrients nor a dense indigenous ecosystem. Composts are the materials that are most frequently employed for a variety of reasons. They offer a dense and varied microbial system, a good water holding capacity, a good air permeability, and they contain large amounts of intrinsic nutrients. Moreover, their utilization in biolters constitutes a recycling and effective way for utilization of residual organic matters, such as the residues and activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants, forest products (branches, leaves, barks), domestic residues, etc. (Alexander, 1999) However, composts are often less stable than soils or peats because they tend to break down and to become compacted, leading to pressure drop increases, due, among other reasons, to their high water holding capacity.
M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

Some authors have studied bioltration on wood chips or barks (Smet et al., 1996a; Smet et al., 1999; Hong and Park, 2004), but they have shown that performances obtained with such ltering materials are less satisfactory than those obtained with compost or peat. This has been explained by the low pH-buffering capacity, the low specic surface areas and the low nutrient content of such materials. Despite these deciencies, wood barks are still widely used in bioltration as structural materials, in association with peat or compost. Indeed, to prevent bed crushing and compaction, most authors employ materials that provide the bed with good structure maintenance and rigidity, which delays the clogging phenomena and increases the bed lifetimes: wood chips or barks (Oh and Choi, 2000; Luo, 2001; Marek et al., 2001), perlite (Weigner et al., 2001; Woertz et al., 2002), vermiculite (Krishnayya et al., 1999; Pineda et al., 2000), ceramic (Cardenas-Gonzalez et al., 1999), glass beads (Zilli et al., 2000), polyurethane foam (Moe and Irvine, 2000; Woertz et al., 2002), polystyrene (Ottengraf, 1986; Arulneyam and Swaminathan, 2000), lava rock (Chitwood and Devinny, 2001), etc. More recently, Ibrahim et al., 2001, prepared a bed composed of activated sludge, immobilized in gel beads, and Marek et al., 1999, have utilized beds of activated carbon or microorganisms immobilized in calcium-alginate beads. Christen et al., 2002, and Sene et al., 2002, developed a sugarcane-bagasse-based bed, for the treatment of ethanol and benzene. Some bed structuring agents also present interesting chemical characteristics such as pH buffering capacity (limestone, for example) (Smet et al., 1996b), or general adsorbing capacity (activated carbon). Organic materials such as composts, soils or peats present only small adsorption capacities: Acuna et al., 1999, determined a value for the adsorption coefcient of toluene on peat as 0.137 mg g1 of peat, Tang and Hwang, 1997, reported partition coefcients for toluene of 1.43 mg g1 of compost, 2.00 mg g1 of diatomaceous earth, and 0.89 mg g1 of chaff. Beds containing activated carbon (granulated or powdered) provide adsorption coefcients for toluene some 10 to 20 times greater: 50.6 mg g1 of granulated activated carbon (Tang and Hwang, 1997), and 0.287 g g1 of powdered activated carbon (Marek et al., 1999). Thus, the addition of activated carbon leads to (1) improvements of the degrading capacity of biolters (Webster et al., 1995; Abumaizar et al., 1998), (2) elimination of hydrophobic compounds, which naturally tend to be
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more recalcitrant to bioltration (Cardenas-Gonzalez, 1999), and (3) to better control loading variations (ow rate or VOC concentration uctuations) (Mason et al., 2000).

Flow Rate
The air ow rate, Q, and the empty bed residence bed time (EBRT), , dened as: = VQ (Vbed , is the bed volume), are parameters that have signicant impact on the biodegradation performance (Elmrini et al., 2004). Indeed, two physico-chemical mechanisms may limit the overall elimination efciency of a biolter (Ottengraf, 1986): the pollutants diffusion transfer from gas phase to biolm, and the biodegradation reaction. Depending on both the ow rate and the VOC concentration, the VOC degradation process is limited by either one of these mechanisms, or both simultaneously. Figure 5 presents the characteristic-time scales of the various physical, chemical and biological processes occurring in a biolter (Kissel et al., 1984; Picioreanu et al., 1999). From this time-scale chart, it appears that diffusion mechanisms are slower than the biological reactions. Thus, to improve bioltration performance, the EBRT should be greater than the time required for diffusion processes, which is the case for low operating ow rates. Most of the authors studying variable ow rates have effectively veried that long EBRT give rise to better VOC removal efciencies (Jorio et al., 1999; Christen et al., 2002; Delhom enie et al., 2002a; Martin et al., 2002; Yoon and Park, 2002). However,

the application of long EBRT requires larger lter bed volumes. On the contrary, when ow rates are too high, contact times between microorganisms and gases are too short so that the biodegradation reaction cannot be completed. Moreover, when the input air velocity is too high, the water contained in the lter bed is stripped by the gas ow, which tends to desiccate the biolter. In most of the operated biolters, the EBRT ranges from 15 seconds to several minutes. The EBRT value also depends on other operating conditions such as the VOC concentration, the VOC biodegradability level and the available bed volumes.

Pollutants
As previously mentioned, the overall bioltration efciency and the pollutants biodegradability level rely on the following microscopic processes: the VOC transfer rate from gas phase to biolm, and the VOC biodegradation rate. The magnitude of both parameters depends on the operating conditions (ow rate, temperature, pH, moisture content, etc.), but also on the type and concentration of pollutants presented. The contaminants absorption in the biolm is governed by the Henrys law, which correlates the VOC vapor pressure with its solubility in water. The reversible adsorption of pollutant on the particle surface is described by an equilibrium isotherm (linear, Langmuir, Freundlich, etc.). Mass transport in the biolm is described by molecular diffusion in an aqueous phase (Ficks law). The

FIGURE 5 The characteristic times of the main mechanisms taking place in a biolter, based on references of Picioreanu et al., 1999,
and Kissel et al., 1989.

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Bioltration of Air

biodegradation rate is related to the microbial strains established in the lter bed, and to the concentration and chemical conguration of the VOC. In this way, the removal of slightly soluble compounds, introduced at low concentrations, is limited by their transfer rate into the biolm. In contrast, soluble compounds, introduced at higher concentrations, are easily absorbed into the biolm, but the biodegradation rate then tends to limit their removal rate. Taking into account these parameters, the oxygenated hydrocarbons (alcohols > aldehydes, ketones > ethers) are more readily biodegraded than the linear alkanes, followed by the aromatic hydrocarbons. The very short chain alkanes, such as methane, and the branched compounds, are more recalcitrant, and the halogenated hydrocarbons (chlorinated) are the most recalcitrant of VOC. Further, VOC concentrations introduced beyond a toxicity threshold value tend to inhibit the microbial growth and activity. The existence of such threshold concentrations has been proved, at the laboratory-scale, by Tang et al., 1996, with triethylamine, by Jorio et al., 2000, with styrene and by Krailas et al., 2000, with methanol. Generally, VOC concentrations do not exceed 5 g m3 in biolters inlet gas ow (1000 ppmv methane equivalent). Finally, even though most laboratory studies consider single substrates or restricted mixtures of VOC, large scale gas efuents contain, in fact, more or less dened, and sometimes variable mixtures of pollutants. However, authors working with VOC mixtures have demonstrated that the simultaneous presence of several compounds can:

BTEX mixtures: competitive inhibition between benzene and toluene, benzene and toluene degradation inhibited by the p-xylene cometabolism. Deshusses, 1997, also illustrated strong mutual inhibitions occurring in a mixture containing hexane, acetone, propanol, methylisobutylketone, and methylethylketone. Other studies proved that, in some cases, the observed inhibitions resulted from an accumulation of inhibitory intermediate metabolites in the microbial growth medium (Leon et al., 1999; Yu et al., 2001). Diauxyb has also been observed as a consequence of the interactions between compounds (Webster and Devinny, 1998). This phenomenon was illustrated by Mohseni and Allen, 2000, who concluded that, in a mixture of methanol and -pinene, methanol, a hydrophilic and easily biodegradable compound, was consumed prior to the hydrophobic and recalcitrant -pinene.

Pressure Drop
The bed pressure drop is an important bioltration parameter because it is taken into account in the operating costs. Thus, Leson et al., 1995, reported that a pressure drop increase from 4 to 25 cm of water led to an increase in energetic needs from 7 to 27 kW, within only 6 months. The pressure drops recorded in most of bioltration systems do not exceed some cm of water/m. Several factors inuence the pressure drop level through the porous lter bed: lter bed characteristics, ow rate, moisture content, biomass density, etc. Among the organic materials that constitute the biolter beds, soils are the least air permeable, and thus give rise to high pressure drops, followed by composts, then peats, and wood chips (Kennes and Thalasso, 1998). Moreover, lter beds that contain small particles offer high specic surface areas, thus favoring the microbial activity (Oude Luttighuis, 1998; Kent et al., 2000), but also constitute a greater resistance to gas ow, which is even further increased when biomass grows in bed porosities (Bailey and Ollis, 1986; Allen and Yang, 1991). Even though larger particles favor the gas ow through the bed (lower pressure drop), they offer less surface sites for the oxidation reaction, and thus can lead to lower elimination performances (Delhom enie
b Some compounds, that are easier to degrade, or for example provide more reaction energy, are sometimes preferred by microorganisms.

r have either no effect or they improve the removal

efciency of single pollutants. This is the case for the elimination of some recalcitrant compounds that requires cometabolic oxidation pathways.a For example, the trichloroethylene degradation is induced by the addition of toluene (Ergas et al., 1993; Cox et al., 1998), propane or methane (Watwood and Sukesan, 1995) in the gas mixture. r create interference within the metabolic processes of each pollutant. Deshusses et al., 1999, reported that the presence of ethylacetate in the gas ow has an inhibitory effect on toluene degradation. Oh et al., 1994, showed mutual inhibition processes occurring within
a The VOC-degrading enzymes are activated only in the presence of a primary substrate.

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et al., 2002b). As a compromise, Ottengraf, 1986, have suggested the addition of 35 mm polystyrene beads to the bed, and Williams and Miller, 1992, concluded that beds should contain at least 60% particles with a size greater than 4 mm. As suggested by Eitner and Gethke, 1987, and Leson and Winer, 1991, most researchers have utilized particles of diameters greater than the threshold value of 4 mm (Corsi and Seed, 1995; Oude Luttighuis, 1998; Ortiz, 1998; CardenasGonzalez et al., 1999; Delhom enie et al., 2001a). Overall biolters dimensions also signicantly inuence the bed pressure drop: under the weight of the overlying layers, the whole bed tends to be crushed and compacted, which affects its air permeability. Usually, lter bed volumes range from 10 to 3000 m3 , with heights ranging from 0.5 to 2 m. In some cases, bed congurations are also multi-staged or modular. The impact of the gas ow rate on the pressure drop is also important. Several authors have proved that the higher the supercial gas velocity, the more signicant is the pressure drop. Phillips et al., 1995, proposed a correlation between the pressure drop ( P) and the air supercial velocity (u), inspired by the Kozeny-Carman relationship: P = a ub , where 1 < a < 1.9, and b depends on the ltering material properties and the gas ow regime (2 < Rec < 100). This empirical relationship is in agreement with the results of different studies reported in the literature (Bailey and Ollis, 1986; Kennes and Thalasso, 1998). Biomass growth is the last factor that has strong inuence on the pressure drop. Indeed, biolm thickness on the bed particles surface can range from 30 m to 2.5 mm (Pineda et al., 2000), thereby contributing to the decrease of bed interstitial porosity and the reduction of the void spaces available for gas ow. MorganSagastume et al., 2001, and Delhom enie et al., 2003, have developed correlations, derived from Erguns equation (Ergun, 1952), relating the pressure drop ( P), with the bed porosity (), and validated for biolters developing signicant biomass: P=A (1 )3 (1 ) +B n n1 2 (2)

in lter beds are indicators of physical dysfunctions in the biolter: clogging, channeling, creation of anaerobic zones and decreased bioltration efciency. Thus, Alonso et al., 1997, and Wubker et al., 1997, have shown that biolm growth on bed particles affects mass transfer mechanisms. Several methods have been developed to prevent and to avoid lter bed clogging due to excess biomass accumulation. These methods are in general largely inspired by measures applied in biotrickling lters, such as backwashing (Smith et al., 1996; Delhom enie et al., 2002a; Mendoza et al., 2004), bed stirring (Auria et al., 2000), utilization of chemical biocides (NaCl, HClO, H2 O2 , etc.) (Diks et al., 1994; Armon et al., 2000), nutrient (nitrogen) control (Smith et al., 1996; Delhom enie et al., 2003), and the introduction of biomass predators (mites, for example) in the bed (Woertz et al., 2002).

Moisture Content
From the biological viewpoint, the moisture content in the lter bed is one of the most important of bioltration parameters. Thus, Morales et al., 1996, reported that 75% of bioltration troubleshooting events are related to bad control of the humidity level. Indeed, water is essential for the microbial activity that takes place in the biolm. Too low bed moisture content leads to bed desiccation and gas ow channeling, which particularly affects the microora. Moreover, some authors have shown that after a long period of dryness, beds that were initially hydrophilic, such as peats or composts, become increasingly hydrophobic, and difcult to moisten (Thompson et al., 1996; Sabo et al., 1993). Contrarily, too high bed moisture contents lead to the reduction of the specic surface available for gas/biolm exchanges and cause bed compaction (pressure drop increase, creation of anaerobic zones). Ottengraf, 1986, suggested maintaining the bed moisture content at between 40 and 60%. The main factors that inuence the bed moisture content are (Cardenas-Gonzalez, 1999):

where A, B, n1 and n2 depend on the lter bed parameters and its operating conditions. High pressure drops
c Reynolds number: Re = diameter, : dynamic air viscosity, u: air velocity. udp , with : bed specic gravity, dp : particles

r the inlet gas relative humidity; r the water holding capacity of the ltering material; r the gas ow rate through the bed: water stripping r the reaction exothermicity which tends to desiccate
the bed.
Bioltration of Air

effects;

63

Thus, Delhom enie et al., 2004, have determined that, in a biolter treating high concentrations of pollutant, evaporation and stripping can cause water losses up to 70 g of water per day per kg lter bed. Van Lith et al., 1997 developed a calculation procedure to evaluate the bed drying rate and proposed moisture control methods. In biolters, the systematic humidication of the inlet gas stream permits the maintenance of a minimum moisture content, but Abumaizar et al., 1998, and Devinny et al., 1999, suggest operating an occasional, manual irrigation of the bed when water losses are <50 g m3 h1 , and to install an automatic irrigation system to care for higher loss-rates.

Temperature
The intensity of the microbial activity in a biolter is related to the operating temperature. Most of the microbial populations that develop in ltering media are mesophilic (Kennes and Thalasso, 1998), which implies that the optimum temperatures range between 20 and 40 C. Park et al., 2002, have determined that the maximum toluene degradation rates were obtained at between 30 and 35 C. This optimum temperature interval was also demonstrated by Lee et al., 2002, for the removal of BTEX. For ethylene, Elsgaard, 2000, observed that the value of maximum removal efciency occurs at 26 C. Arnold et al., 1997, evaluated the optimal temperature interval between 20 and 23 C for styrene elimination. In the optimum range of temperatures, between 20 and 40 C, Deeb and Alavarez-Cohen, 1999, and Devinny et al., 1999, noticed that a 10 C temperature increase could double the degradation performance, even though several contradictory phenomena interact when temperature rises (Darlington et al., 2001): decrease of VOC and O2 solubilities in water, favored growth of yeasts and molds and other superior organisms (mites, nematodes, etc.), but increased diffusion transfer and biodegradation rates. Even though the microbial activity tends to slow for lower temperatures, Elsgaard, 2000 and 1998, studied the elimination of low concentrations of ethylene at 10 C, and more recently, between 0 and 10 C. Cho et al., 1992, studied the bioltration of dimethyl sulde between 10 and 20 C. Kennes and Thalasso, 1998, mentioned that, despite the reduction in microbial activity at lower temperatures, processes such as the adsorption can explain, in some cases, the elimination capacities obtained under such drastic operating conditions.
M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

At the opposite condition, some authors have studied the feasibility of bioltration at temperatures greater than 40 C. Thus, Matteau and Ramsay, 1999, reported a study on toluene degradation under thermophilic conditions at temperatures between 50 and 60 C. Allen et al., 2000, and Dhamwichukom et al., 2001, studied the elimination of methanol and -pinene by a thermophilic bacterial consortium, enduring a temperature of 55 C. As the biodegradation reaction is exothermic, the variations of temperature in the lter bed are also a consequence of the microbial activity. Hwang et al., 2002, proved that the amount of energy released by the biological reaction can reach 50 kcal h1 , which translates to temperature gradients within the bed of the order of 2 to 4 C, and sometimes reaching 10 C for high VOC inlet concentrations. Such temperature gradients between the biolter inlet and outlet are important parameters for design considerations because they can lead to bed desiccation, or to local inhomogeneities developing in the lter bed.

Nutrients and pH
Microorganisms established in biolters are essentially composed of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur (Scriban, 1993). The pollutants introduced into the biolters are the main carbon and energy sources for the microbial activity. Hydrogen and oxygen are found in the air, in the growth medium, and sometimes in VOC. The availability of the other macronutrients (N, P, K, S) and micro-nutrients (vitamins, metals) depends on both the characteristics of the ltering materials and the biolter conguration. Indeed, organic materials such as composts are recognized to contain various nutrients essential for biomass maintenance. However, some studies have shown that longterm utilization of compost-based beds leads to progressive exhaustion of the intrinsic nutritive resources (Corsi and Seed, 1995; Morgenroth et al., 1996). In some cases, even with compost materials, this progressive nutrient deciency can become a limiting factor for the longer term bioltration performance (Weckhuysen et al., 1993; Arnold et al., 1997; Gribbins and Loehr, 1998; Delhom enie et al., 2001a). These works have demonstrated that, whatever the ltering material employed, the steady addition of nutrients is necessary to sustain a satisfactory degrading activity. Models of bioltration performance as a function of nutrients supply, and of nitrogen in particular (the most important
64

element after carbon and oxygen), have been developed and experimentally validated (Kinney et al., 1998; Alonso et al., 2001; Delhom enie et al., 2001a). Nutrients supply is performed either in the solid form, directly inserted into the lter bed (Gribbins and Loehr, 1998), or as mineral salts dissolved in aqueous solutions, the most frequently used method. Given the wide range of elements and compounds inuencing the microbial behavior, the optimization of nutrient solutions delivered to lter beds is a large subject of study. Wu et al., 1999, reviewed the most common nutrient solutions adapted for biolter use. The most utilized salts are: KH2 PO4 , Nax H(3x) PO4 , KNO3 , (NH4 )2 SO4 , NH4 Cl, NH4 HCO3 , CaCl2 , MgSO4 , MnSO4 , FeSO4 , Na2 MoO4 , and vitamins (B1, etc.). The pH has a similar inuence on the bioltration efciency than temperature: there exists an optimum range of pH, and beyond this interval microbial activity is severely affected. Most of the microorganisms in biolters are neutrophilic: their optimum pH is 7. Thus, for BTEX, Lu et al., 2002, have observed maximum degradation rates for pH between 7.5 and 8.0, and Lee et al., 2002, at around 7.0. Veiga et al., 1999, have also proved that for pH values ranging between 3.5 and 7.0, the alkylbenzenes degradation performance is increased with pH, while Arnold et al., 1997, stated that styrene elimination was improved within a neutral medium. Moreover, pollutants that contain heteroatoms (S, Cl, N) are converted into acid products, which tends to reduce the pH (Devinny and Hodge, 1995; Christen et al., 2002), affect the microorganisms, and cause corrosion problems in downstream conducts (Webster and Devinny, 1998). Kennes and Thalasso, 1998, report that, among the organic materials employed in biolters, soils present the best intrinsic pH buffering capacity, followed by composts and wood-chips (Smet et al., 1996a). Peats are naturally acidic (pH 3.04.0), with low buffering capacity. To maintain the pH constant at around 7.0, some authors insert buffer materials into their lter beds: calcium carbonate (Ottengraf, 1986; Smet et al., 1996b; Krishnayya et al., 1999), dolomite (Smet et al., 1999), oyster shells (Ergas et al., 1995; Morgenroth et al., 1996; Cardenas-Gonzalez et al., 1999). The pH regulation is also performed via bed irrigation with nutrient solutions that contain pH-buffers: Ca(OH)2 (Acuna et al., 1996), NaOH (Zilli et al., 1996), NaHPO4 , NaHCO3 (Tang et al., 1996), urea (Wu et al., 1999; Delhom enie et al., 2001b).
65

Microorganisms
Microorganisms are the catalysts of pollutants biodegradation. They are essential for the operation of the bioprocess. During the elimination of VOC, heterotrophic microorganismsd are predominant, most often being bacteria or fungi. The bed inoculation depends on both the nature of the ltering materials and the VOC biodegradability level. Many authors prefer taking advantage of the ecosystems indigenous to the beds (Mohseni and Allen, 2000; Delhom enie et al., 2001b; Delhom enie et al., 2002a;). After an acclimatization period, the most resistant populations are naturally selected and a microbial hierarchy is established in the bed. In many other cases (materials with low biomass density, recalcitrant VOC, reduction of acclimatization period), researchers inoculate the beds with consortia, extracted from sewage sludge, for example, or strains derived from either commercial sources or isolated from previously operated biolters. Table 3 presents some of the strains employed in biolters, either as inoculums or as materials isolated from operating systems. In terms of biomass density, a biolter contains between 106 and 1010 cfue of bacteria and actinomycetes per gram of bed (Ottengraf, 1986; Webster et al., 1997; Krailas et al., 2000), and some 103 to 106 cfu of fungi per g (Ottengraf, 1986; Tahraoui et al., 1994). Lastly, Pedersen et al., 1997, and Delhom enie et al., 2001a, have reported that, in biolters, the degrading species represent between 1 and 15% of the total populations.

Models
The design and application of large-scale biolters requires the development of tools to evaluate the inuence of the main operational parameters (ow rate, concentrations, nutrient effects, etc.). Studies performed at the laboratory and pilot scales provide experimental results that contribute to the understanding of complex bioltration mechanisms and that also support the development of process models, which are themselves very useful tools for both performance extrapolation and prediction. Since the beginnings of air bioltration, progress has been realized in the eld of bioltration modeling, and numerous models now exist, describing both the steady-state and the transient behaviors of bioreactors.
d Their e cfu:

sources of carbon and energy are the organic compounds. colony forming units.

Bioltration of Air

TABLE 3 Microorganisms identied during the degradation of VOC by bioltration.

Pollutants Benzene Benzene Benzene Exophiala lecanii-corni, Phanerochaete chrysosporium BTX Butylacetate Microorganisms Pseudomonas sp. Alcaligenes xylosoxidans Cladosporium sphaeraspermum, References Sene et al., 2002 Yeom and Daugulis, 2001 Qi et al., 2002

Chlorobenzene Dichloromethane Dichloromethane Dimethyl sulde Ethanol Ethylacetate Ethylbenzene

Ethylene Methylethylketone

Methylethylketone

Methylethylketone Methylisobutylketone

Methyl-tertbutyl-ether Pentane Phenol -pinene -pinene Styrene Styrene Styrene TEX+ Toluene Toluene Toluene Toluene Toluene

Phanerochaete chrysosporium Cladosporium resinae, C. sphaeraspermum, Exophiala lecanii-corni, Mucor rouxi, Phanerochaete chrysosporium Pseudomonas sp. Pseudomonas putida Hyphomicrobium sp. Hyphomicrobium Candida utilis Rhodococcus fascians Cladosporium resinae, C. sphaeraspermum, Exophiala lecanii-corni, Phanerochaete chrysosporium Mycobacterium sp. Alcaligenes denitricans, Geotrichum candidum, Fusiarum oxysporum Cladosporium resinae, C. sphaeraspermum, Exophiala lecanii-corni Rhodococcus sp. Cladosporium resinae, C. sphaeraspermum, Exophiala lecanii-corni, Phanerochaete chrysosporium Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pseudomonas putida Aspergillus sp. Pseudomonas uorescens, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans C. sphaeraspermum, Exophiala lecanii-corni Tsukamurella, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Xanthomonas Exophiala jeanselmei Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Trichosporon beigelei Acetinobacter sp. Pseudomonas putida Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes Exophiala lecanii-corni Scedosporium apiospermum

Oh et al., 1998 Qi et al., 2002

Seignez et al., 2001 Ergas et al., 1996 Diks et al., 1994 Smet et al., 1999 Christen et al., 2002 Hwang et al., 2002 Qi et al., 2002

Deheyder et al., 1997 Agathos et al., 1997

Qi et al., 2002

Amanullah et al., 2000 Qi et al., 2002

Dupasquier et al., 2002 Dupasquier et al., 2002 Zilli et al., 1996 Diehl et al., 2000 Kleinheinz et al., 1999 Qi et al., 2002 Arnold et al., 1997 Cox et al., 1997 Veiga et al., 1999 Marek et al., 1999 Park et al., 2002; Ergas et al., 1996; Villaverde and Fernandez, 1997 Oh and Choi, 2000 Woertz et al., 2001 Garcia-Pena et al., 2001

M.-C. Delhomenie and M. Heitz

66

TABLE 3 Microorganisms identied during the degradation of VOC by bioltration. (Continued)

Pollutants Toluene Microorganisms Corynebacterium jeikeium, C. nitrilophilus, Turicella oritidis, Pseudomonas mendocina, Sphingobacterium thalphophilum, Micrococcus lutens Cladophalophoria sp. Pseudomonas putida Pseudomonas putida Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes References Strauss et al., 2000

Toluene Trichloroethane Trichloroethylene Xylene

+ Toluene, Benzene,

Woertz et al., 2002 Ergas et al., 1993 Cox et al., 1998; Ergas et al., 1993 Oh and Choi, 2000

Toluene, Xylene. Ethylbenzene, Xylene.

Biolters are three-phase biological reactors involving complex, physical, chemical and biological phenomena: interfacial transfers, diffusion, convection, dispersion, sorption equilibriums, degradation and microbial kinetics, etc. The differences between the various models proposed in the literature depend on the assumptions stated by the authors to establish the mass balances and equations for the different phases considered. Ottengraf and van den Oever, 1983, proposed the rst model for air bioltration, by describing the steady-state performance. In this model, the cases of zero and rst order degradation kinetics were presented, and associated with a substrate mass equilibrium at a unique gas/biolm interface. This model, analytically solvable, is still widely used to describe biolter performance (Zilli et al., 1996; M etris et al., 1999; Pineda et al., 2000; Delhom enie et al., 2002a; Park et al., 2004). To predict steady-state biolter effectiveness, Shareefdeen et al., 1993, proposed another model by introducing oxygen limitation and substrate inhibition in the kinetic expressions. Deshusses and Hamer, 1993, as well as Baltzis et al., 1997, developed models for steady-state biolters treating mixtures of pollutants, through considering either Monod or Haldane degradation kinetics. Even though they provide satisfying descriptions of the steady-state performance, most of these models reduce the real three-phase problem to a simplied two-phase problem involving a unique gas/biolm interface, and without other ow models than the ideal plug ow one. Dealing with the transient behavior of biolters led most of the authors to consider more complex systems. Hodge and Devinny, 1995, for example, considered axial dispersion in the plug ow reactor, and introduced a mass transfer term between the gas and biolm/solid phases. Shareefdeen and Baltzis, 1994,
67

proposed a three-phase development, taking into account adsorption of the pollutant at the gas/solid interface. This model also considered oxygen limitation and substrate inhibition. Amanullah et al., 1999, proposed a three-phase model derived from Shareefdeen and Baltzis, 1994, combining adsorption and axial dispersion phenomena. In their transient model, Tang and Hwang, 1997, established mass balances that took into account the heterogeneity of the packing material, adsorption phenomena on the pellets, and they proposed a complex generalized form of the Monod expression for substrate biodegradation. Deshusses et al., 1995, and Zarook et al., 1997, suggested transient models for the bioltration of mixtures of pollutants, with kinetic interactions between the pollutants. All of these transient regime models describe complex mechanisms between gas, solid and biolm, and their solution by numerical methods requires the assumption that both biolm thickness and biomass density remain constant during biolter operation. To this end, it is assumed that biomass growth is counterbalanced by death and maintenance (M etris et al., 1999). However, as mentioned by Morgan-Sagastume et al., 2001, and Delhom enie et al., 2003, biomass tends to accumulate on the bed pellet surface, so that the biolm thickness in biolters can reach several hundreds m after several weeks of operation (Pineda et al., 2000; Cohen, 2001). Changes of biolm physionomy alter the transfer mechanisms (Alonso et al., 1997; Wubker et al., 1997) and tend to affect the overall performance (Delhom enie et al., 2003; Song and Kinney, 2002). Despite the recognized importance of the clogging problems in biolters, up to date, only one transient model has been presented in the literature to describe the consequence of biomass growth on bioltration performance (Song and Kinney, 2002).
Bioltration of Air

CONCLUSION
In this paper, the existing air pollution control technologies (APCT) applied for the removal of volatile organic compounds have been reviewed. The main APCT (adsorption, absorption, incineration, etc.) have been briey presented. Among them, the emerging biotechnologies: bioscrubbers, biotrickling lters and biolters, have been described. The emphasis of this review focused on bioltration and presented the recent and latest developments that concern biolters. Details of the main physical, chemical and biological parameters governing this bioprocess have been presented: lter bed, ow rate, pollutants (nature and concentration), pressure drop, moisture content, temperature, nutrients and pH, microorganisms, and models.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are indebted to the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for their nancial support. They also wish to acknowledge Dr. P. G. Lanigan for text revision.

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