Investigation of Removal Capacities of Biofilters for Airborne Viable Micro-Organisms

Rémi Soret, Jean-Louis Fanlo, Luc Malhautier, Philippe Geiger and Sandrine Bayle
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Rémi Soret: LGEI, IMT Mines Ales, University of Montpellier, 30100 Ales, France
Jean-Louis Fanlo: LGEI, IMT Mines Ales, University of Montpellier, 30100 Ales, France
Luc Malhautier: LGEI, IMT Mines Ales, University of Montpellier, 30100 Ales, France
Philippe Geiger: CMI Europe-Environnement, 1 rue des Pins, Parc d’Activités du Pays de Thann, 68700 Aspach-Michelbach, France
Sandrine Bayle: LGEI, IMT Mines Ales, University of Montpellier, 30100 Ales, France

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: New emerging issues appears regarding the possible aerosolization of micro-organisms from biofilters to the ambient air. Traditional bioaerosol sampling and cultural methods used in literature offer relative efficiencies. In this study, a new method revolving around a particle counter capable of detecting total and viable particles in real time was used. This counter (BioTrak 9510-BD) uses laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technology to determine the biological nature of the particle. The concentration of viable particles was measured on two semi-industrial pilot scale biofilters in order to estimate the Removal Efficiency in viable particles (RE vp ) in stable conditions and to examine the influence of pollutant feeding and relative humidification of the gaseous effluent on the RE vp . The RE vp of biofilters reached near 80% and highlighted both the stability of that removal and the statistical equivalence between two identical biofilters. Pollutant deprivation periods of 12 h, 48 h and 30 days were shown to have no influence on the biofilters’ removal capacity, demonstrating the robustness and adaptation capacities of the flora. In contrast, a 90-day famine period turned the biofilters into emitters of viable particles. Finally, the humidification of the effluent was shown to negatively influence the removal capacity for viable particles, as drying off the air was shown to increase the RE vp from 60 to 85%.

Keywords: biofiltration; bioaerosols; BioTrak; fluorescence; operating parameters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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