Odor and VOCs treatment from wastewater treatment plant using a full-scale biofilter

Air emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) often consist of a combination of odor and volatile organic compounds(VOCs). Biofiltration is one of the major treatment processes for odor and VOCs control. In this study, a full-scale biofilter, packed with polyurethane foam cubes, was set up at a wastewater treatment plant in Shandong province. The objective was to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the biofilter to treat odor and VOCs. Results indicated that the biofilter can remove the influent H₂S, NH₃ and VOCs efficiently in stable operation. The biofilter also had good tolerance to shocking loads of inlet pollutants. The polyurethane foam cubes used as packing media had low pressure drop and good mechanical strength. By cost estimation, it was demonstrated that the biofilter was an economic, energy-saving and low maintenance system to improve the quality of the atmospheric environment of the WWTPs.