ARS | Publication request: Livestock air treatment using PVA-coated powdered activated carbon biofilter

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: June 1, 2008
Publication Date: June 29, 2008
Repository URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10113/25501
Citation: Ro, K.S., McConnell, L.L., Johnson, M.H., Hunt, P.G., Parker, D. 2008. Livestock air treatment using PVA-coated powdered activated carbon biofilter. Proceedings of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting, June 29-July 2, 2008, Providence, Rhode Island, Paper No. 084243. 10 pp.

Technical Abstract: The efficacy of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biofilters was studied using bench-scale biofilters and air from aerobically-treated swine manure. The PVA-coated powdered activated carbon particles showed excellent properties as a biofiltration medium: water holding capacity of 1.39 g H2O/g-dry PVA; wet porosity of 0.53; significantly lower pressure drop than that of compost. Although ammonia adsorption capacity is much lower than granular activated carbon, the PVA biofilters effectively removed ammonia in the air via nitrification after 20 days of acclimation period. Compost biofilters were shut down prematurely due to loss of structural integrity after 27 days of operation resulting in clogging and channeling. Hydrogen sulfide was effectively removed by the PVA biofilters. While the biofilters produced 0.14 g N2O-N/L-wet PVA, another greenhouse gas methane production was negligible.