Recent progress and perspectives in biological treatment for gaseous pollutants

Abstract:

The problem of air pollution has of late years become increasingly sever, and industrial production is a momentous source. Biological treatments of gaseous pollutants including volatile organic compounds, odours, sulfides, nitrogen oxides and so forth in industrial production has gradually emerged in China and gained extensive attention with the advantages of high efficiency, low investment, green and environmental friendliness. This paper reviews fundamentals, technical classification and characteristics, applied range, state-of-the-art research directions and progress of biological treatments both here and abroad. Biological treatments tend to have high removal efficiency for the treatment of low concentration gaseous pollutants, while it is limited for treating hydrophobicity, high concentration, toxicity, and low bioavailability of these pollutants. To solve these problems, experts and scholars had done a great quantity of researches and experiments, and those efficient methods and means innovated were summarized. It is considered that the application of methods for reducing mass transfer resistance, combination with other treatment technologies, clarification of mechanisms and metabolic pathways of microbial degradation are significant research directions to improve the efficiency of biological treatments and expand its field of application. However, nearly all methods of intensification mentioned are still in the stage of experimental research, as an important goal, which still need to be continuously studied for industrialization.