Study on the influence of packing material on biotrickling filter for acrylonitrile removal: Experiments and CFD simulations

This study used volcanic rock and glass pumice to explore the effects of the specific surface area, porosity and stacking density of packing materials on BTF performance through experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. When the empty bed residence time (EBRT) is 59 s, glass pumice can fully treat acrylonitrile up to 700 mg/m 3 , while volcanic rock can only be fully treated when the acrylonitrile concentration is reduced to 450 mg/m 3 . Microbial community analysis found that the relative abundance of dominant bacterial species in the BTF filled with glass pumice was higher, which corresponded to its better performance. Through CFD simulation, it was found that reducing the stacking density of packing materials will lead to an increase in BTF performance. On the contrary, too high stacking density will lead to BTF clogging. This study provides a reference for the selection and application of packing materials and the use of CFD. • Successful removal of gaseous acrylonitrile in two biotrickling filters (BTFs). • The effect of stacking density was investigated using computational fluid dynamics. • Porosity has a greater impact on the performance of BTF than specific surface area. • Larger porosity is more conducive to the enrichment and evolution of microorganisms.