Air, Soil and Water Research

This study investigates the effect of volatile organic compound (VOC) feed fluctuations on trickle bed air biofilters (TBABs) and the ability of a two-bed adsorption/desorption unit in dampening fluctuations. A mixture of n-hexane, benzene, and methanol with concentration ratios of 1:3:6.6 was fed to two parallel TBABs. To simulate feed fluctuations, four different square waves were applied. The total VOC loading rates (LRs) varied from 28.4 to 107.3 g/m³h. The average concentration of VOCs applied to both TBABs was within allowable limits as determined in an earlier study. One TBAB was preceded by a two-bed cyclic adsorption/desorption unit (integrated unit), while the other TBAB (control unit) was directly subjected to the high and low peaks. n-Hexane elimination in the integrated unit was steady, and stable performance was obtained (75%–89%) based on the LRs, whereas the control unit showed erratic performance. The other two VOCs were mostly removed.