Membrane bioreactor for control of volatile organic compound emissions

A membrane bioreactor system that overcomes many of the limitations of conventional compost biofilters is described. The system utilizes microporous hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes for mass transfer of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the gas phase to a microbially active liquid phase. The reactor design provides a high biomass concentration, a method for wasting biomass, and a method for addition of pH buffers, nutrients, cometabolites, and/or other amendments. A theoretical model is developed, describing mass transfer and biodegradation in the membrane bioreactor. Reactor performance was determined in a laboratory scale membrane bioreactor over a range of gas loading rates using toluene as a model VOC. Toluene removal efficiency was greater than 98% at an inlet concentration of 100 ppm, and a gas residence time of less than 2 s. Factors controlling bioreactor performance were determined through both experiments and theoretical modeling to include: compound Henry's law constant, membrane specific surface area, gas and VOC loading rates, liquid phase turbulence, and biomass substrate utilization rate.