The Application of Mineral Sorbents to Remove Volatile Organic Compounds from the Gases Emitted from the Composting Processes

• Main Author: Monika Wierzbińska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Polish Society of Ecological Engineering (PTIE) 2021-02-01
• Series: Journal of Ecological Engineering
• Subjects: composting; biofiltration; odours; aluminosilicates; mineral sorbents; halloysite
• Online Access: http://www.journalssystem.com/jeeng/The-application-of-mineral-sorbents-to-remove-volatile-organic-compounds-from-gases,130888,0,2.html

The disposal of organic waste in processes such as composting is related to the emission of malodorous compounds. Owing to their character and low odour detection threshold, there is often a need for a hundred percent elimination of contaminants from waste gases. One of alternative methods of treating waste gases from malodorous contaminants, occurring in low concentrations in post-process air, is the biofiltration method. Most often the method uses an organic filtration material. However, this method of air purification is still developing, therefore, there is a search for new sorbents among mineral materials, which would be an alternative for organic sorbents. The article presents research into the application of aluminosilicate sorbents, including halloysite, for deodorization of gases emitted from the processes of composting municipal waste. The semi-technical scale research was conducted for several weeks in a municipal waste composting plant, passing real gases through two biofilters filled with mineral sorbents. In spite of the fact that some problems occurred and the research cycle was not completed, the experiment proved that halloysite removes odours to a much higher extent than the other examined aluminosilicate sorbent. While the VOCs reduction on a bed with halloysite was 88%, the reduction on a bed with a second aluminosilicate was 35%. Process conditions were very unstable, therefore the efficiency of the VOCs removal process varied widely. However, halloysite has always been a better sorbent than the other aluminosilicate.