Biofiltration of n-butyric acid for the control of odour

Odour control from pig production facilities is a significant concern due to increased public awareness and the development of more stringent legislation to control production. Although many technologies exist, biofiltration is still the most attractive due to its low maintenance and operating costs. One of the key odour components, n-butyric acid, was selected for a laboratory scale biofilter study. It was examined as a sole carbon substrate in order to investigate the effectiveness of biofiltration in reducing n-butyric acid concentration under different operating conditions using a moist enriched woodchip medium. Three superficial gas velocities; 38.2, 76.4, and 114.6 m h−1 were tested for n-butyric acid concentrations ranging from 0.13 to 3.1 g [n-butyric acid] m−3 [air]. For superficial gas velocities 38.2, 76.4, and 114.6 m h−1, maximum elimination capacities (100% removal) of 148, 113 and 34.4 g m3 h−1, respectively, were achieved. Upon investigation of effective bed height, true elimination capacities (100% removal) of 230, 233 and 103 g m−3 h−1, respectively, were achieved at these superficial gas velocities. Averaged pressure drops for superficial gas velocities 38.2, 76.4, and 114.6 m h−1 were 30, 78 and 120 Pa, respectively. It was concluded that biofiltration is a viable technology for the removal of n-butyric acid from waste exhaust air, but near 100% removal efficiency is required due to the low odour detection threshold for this gaseous compound.