Due to increasingly stringent legal regulations as well as increasing social awareness, the removal of odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air is gaining importance. This paper presents the strategy to compare selected biological methods intended for the removal of different air pollutants, especially of odorous character. Biofiltration, biotrickling filtration and bioscrubbing technologies are evaluated in terms of their suitability for the effective removal of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic VOCs as well as typical inorganic odorous compounds. A pairwise comparison model was used to assess the performance of selected biological processes of air treatment. Process efficiency, economic, technical and environmental aspects of the treatment methods are taken into consideration. The results of the calculations reveal that biotrickling filtration is the most efficient method for the removal of hydrophilic VOCs while biofilters enable the most efficient removal of hydrophobic VOCs. Additionally, a simple approach for preliminary method selection based on a decision tree is proposed. The presented evaluation strategies may be especially helpful when considering the treatment strategy for air polluted with various types of odorous compounds.

Air pollution with odorous compounds is a significant social and environmental problem. This paper presents biological deodorization methods. The attention is focused on the application of biotrickling filters for air deodorization. Principles of their operation are discussed, indicating the key role of the selection of microorganisms responsible for the degradation of odorous compounds. A literature overview of the used fungal species is presented and the advantages of using fungi in comparison with bacteria are indicated. The results of experimental studies on the n-butanol removal in biotrickling filter are presented.

Biotrickling filtration is one of the techniques used to reduce odorants in the air. It is based on the aerobic degradation of pollutants by microorganisms located in the filter bed. The research presents the possibility of using the electronic nose prototype combined with artificial neural network for biofiltration process monitoring in terms of reduction in n-butanol concentration and odour intensity of treated air. The study was conducted using two-section biotrickling filter packed with a commercially available mixture of peat and perlite during 42 days with different n-butanol inlet concentrations, i.e., 100, 200, 400, and 800 ppm. During the tests, a concentration and odour intensity removal efficiency of around 90% and 20% was obtained, respectively. It has been shown that the highest values were obtained for an inlet n-butanol concentration of 200–400 ppm. Graphic abstract