[Characteristics of biofilm phase during the long-term degradation of a toluene-contaminated gas stream using BTF].

This study analyzes the accumulation and distribution of biomass and changes in properties of biofilm in a long-term biotrickling filter (BTF) system in order to investigate the correlation between the biofilm phase properties and the performance. After a long-term operation of 130 days, the BTF showed a deterioration in degradation performance and an increase in pressure drop with a gradual increase of biofilm thickness and uneven distribution of biomass. Meanwhile, the porosity of the upper and lower layers decreased from 85% and 82% in the start-up period to 65% and 40%, respectively, as a result of the excessive accumulation of biomass and its non-uniform distribution.