Diffuse methane emissions abatement by organic and inorganic packed biofilters: Assessment of operational and environmental indicators

作者：Gomez Cuervo Santiago^*; Alfonsin Carolina^*; Hernandez Jeronimo; Feijoo Gumersindo; Moreira Maria Teresa; Omil Francisco

来源：Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017, 143: 1191-1202.

DOI：10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.185

• Biofiltration
• Climate change
• Greenhouse gas
• Life cycle assessment
• Packing material

This paper aims at quantifying the most relevant technological and environmental indicators associated with the operation of organic and inorganic packed biofilters treating diffuse methane emissions. The use of different packing materials including a mixture of pine bark, perlite and compost for the organic biofilter and polyurethane foam for the inorganic one was evaluated. The influence of other major variables on the removal efficiency such as nutrient requirements, operational conditions and long-term stability were also assessed in both configurations. The analysis of the biofilters operation proved that both configurations provided a feasible and stable performance in the treatment of diffuse methane emissions.
Once the operational feasibility of both systems was proved, the environmental assessment was performed. The main hotspots found in the analysis were attributed to the requirement of nutrients, infrastructure, waste disposal and direct emissions to the atmosphere. A sensitivity analysis was performed in terms of nutrient supply and infrastructure material which revealed that special attention needs to be paid to the formulation of the nutrient solution in terms of concentration and source of nitrogen.

• 出版日期2017-2-1