RT journal article T1 Effect of toluene on siloxane biodegradation and microbial communities in biofilters A1 González Cortés, José Joaquín A1 Lamprea-Pineda, P. A. A1 Valle Gallardo, Antonio A1 Ramírez Muñoz, Martín A1 Van Langenhove, H. A1 Demeestere, K. A1 Walgraeve, C. A2 BiomedicinaBiotecnología y Salud Pública A2 Ingeniería Química y Tecnología de Alimentos K1 Biofilter K1 Volatile methyl siloxanes K1 Pseudomonas K1 Toluene K1 Microbial population AB The removal of volatile methyl siloxanes (VMS) from landfill biogas is crucial for clean energy utilization. VMS are usually found together with aromatic compounds in landfill biogas of which toluene is the major representative. In the present study, two biofilters (BFs) packed with either woodchips and compost (WC) or perlite (PER) were used to study the (co–) removal of octamethyltrisiloxane (L3) and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) from gas in presence and absence of toluene, used as a representative aromatic compound. The presence of low inlet toluene concentrations (315 ±19 – 635 ±80 mg toluene m-3) enhanced the VMS elimination capacity (EC) in both BFs by a factor of 1.8 to 12.6. The highest removal efficiencies for D4 (57.1 ±1.1 %; EC =0.12 ±0.01 gD4 m-3 h-1) and L3 (52.0 ±0.6 %; EC =0.23 ±0.01 gL3 m-3 h-1) were observed in the BF packed with WC. The first section of the BFs (EBRT =9 min), where toluene was (almost) completely removed, accounted for the majority (87.7 ±0.6 %) of the total VMS removal. Microbial analysis revealed the impact of VMS and toluene in the activated sludge, showing a clear selection for certain genera in samples influenced by VMS in the presence (X2) or absence (X1) of toluene, such as Pseudomonas (X1 =0.91 and X2 =12.0 %), Sphingobium (X1 =0.09 and X2 =4.04 %), Rhodococcus (X1 =0.42 and X2 =3.91 %), and Bacillus (X1 =7.15 and X2 =3.84 %). The significant maximum EC values obtained by the BFs (0.58 gVMS m-3 h-1) hold notable significance in a combined system framework as they could enhance the longevity of traditional physicochemical methods to remove VMS like activated carbon in diverse environmental scenarios. PB Elsevier Ltd SN 1879-2456 YR 2024 FD 2024-06-13 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/33716 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/33716 LA eng DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz RD 11-nov-2026