Mathematical Modeling and Parameters Optimization of the Degradation of Acrylonitrile in Biofilters

The removal of Acrylonitrile (AN) from waste gas streams using biological methods, due to their better performance, has recently gained more attraction. The purpose of this research is modeling the AN removal by a bio-filter. The validation of the model is done by using the experimental data of a bench-scale bio-filter bed column including yard waste compost and shredded hard plastics and thickened municipal activated sludge. In this work the kinetics of the biodegradation of Acrylonitrile is first investigated. Then equations of the biofilm and air are obtained at a steady state and constant temperature. The unknown parameters of the model are determined by the least square optimization method along with solving the model equations using MATLAB. For inlet concentrations less than 1 g/m3 the model results show reasonable similarities to the experimental data. The effect of various parameters on the bio-filter performance is evaluated. ThePeclet number, biofilm thickness and biomass concentration are the most important parameters. The proposed model can be useful for design purposes.