Temperature and moisture effect on spore emission in the fungal biofiltration of hydrophobic VOCs

The effect of temperature and moisture on the elimination capacity (EC), CO₂ production and spore emission by Fusarium solani was studied in biofilters packed with vermiculite and fed with n-pentane. Three temperatures (15, 25 and 35°C) were tested and the highest average EC (64 g m ^-3 h^-1) and lower emission of spores (2.0 × 10 ³ CFU m^-3 air) were obtained at 25°C. The effect of moisture content of the packing material indicates that the highest EC (65 g m^-3 h^-1) was obtained at 50% moisture. However, lowest emission (1.3 × 10³ CFU m^-3 air) was obtained at 80% moisture. Furthermore, the results show that a slight decrease in spore emission was found with increasing moisture content. In all cases, the depletion of the nitrogen source in the biofilter induced the sporulation, a decay of the EC and increased spore emission.