A radial-flow device for the biopurification of a model VOC- and wood-smoke- contaminated confined space

BACKGROUND: Indoor air pollution is a growing problem worldwide that causes a series of health issues in the population. Effective devices for abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are currently restricted to adsorption systems based on active carbon. The objective of this study was to evaluate the operation of a new design of radial-flow biopurifier using a model mixture of toluene, benzo(α)pyrene (BaP) and formaldehyde, initially inoculated with the filamentous fungus Fusarium solani and the bacterium Rhodococcus erythropolis. RESULTS: The results show that, under the range of inlet load tested and under continuous operation, the biopurification system achieved removal efficiencies above 90%, translating into a purifier air refreshment capacity of 0.62, 2.5 and 0.8 h⁻¹ for BaP, formaldehyde and toluene, respectively. CONCLUSION: The system was operated for 8 months, without a decrease in the single-pass removal efficiency, and withstood up to 15 days starvation periods with a marginal effect on its air refreshment capacity once the feeding of pollutants was restarted.