Effects of packing material type on n-pentane/biomass partition coefficient for use in fungal biofilters

The partition coefficient between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and biomass is one of the most representative parameters in hydrophobic VOCs biofiltration. In this study, the n-pentane/dry-biomass partition coefficient (KP B/D) was determined in microcosms for the filamentous fungus Fusarium solani, it was grown in four packing materials (compost, peat, perlite and vermiculite) at different temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C). The results show that the n-pentane/wet-biomass partition coefficients (KP B/W) for all experiments in organic packing material were on average 160-fold lower (0.21 ± 0.09) than those in water (33.2 ± 9.4), while for inorganic packing material on average 700-fold lower (0.05 ± 0.04). On the other hand, it was observed that the KP B/W for the fungus grown in an inorganic packing material was on average 4-fold lower than when grown in organic packing material. In conclusion, the use of inorganic packing material increases the solubility (lower KPB/W ) of n-pentane, increasing the elimination capacity in fungal biofilter.