RT journal article
T1 Implementation of a Pilot-Scale Biotrickling Filtration Process for Biogas Desulfurization under Anoxic Conditions Using Agricultural Digestate as Trickling Liquid
A1 Lenis, Alejandra
A1 Ramírez Muñoz, Martín
A1 González Cortés, José Joaquín
A1 Ooms, Kristoffer
A1 Pinnekamp, Johannes
A2 Ingeniería Química y Tecnología de Alimentos
K1 anoxic desulfurization
K1 biotrickling filter
K1 denitrification
K1 hydrogen sulfide
AB A pilot-scale biotrickling filter (BTF) was operated in counter-current flow mode under anoxic conditions, using diluted agricultural digestate as inoculum and as the recirculation medium for the nutrient source. The process was tested on-site at an agricultural fermentation plant, where real biogas was used. The pilot plant was therefore exposed to real process-related fluctuations. The purpose of this research was to attest the validity of the filtration process for use at an industrial-scale by operating the pilot plant under realistic conditions. Neither the use of agricultural digestate as trickling liquid and nor a BTF of this scale have previously been reported in the literature. The pilot plant was operated for 149 days. The highest inlet load was 8.5 gS-H2Sm−3h−1 with a corresponding removal efficiency of 99.2%. The pH remained between 7.5 and 4.6 without any regulation throughout the complete experimental phase. The analysis of the microbial community showed that both anaerobic and anoxic bacteria can adapt to the fluctuating operating conditions and coexist simultaneously, thus contributing to the robustness of the process. The operation of an anoxic BTF with agricultural digestate as the trickling liquid proved to be viable for industrial-scale use.
PB MDPI
SN 2306-5354
YR 2023
FD 2023-01-25
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31450
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/31450
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 05-nov-2026