Biofiltration of air

During several decades, there have been numerous studies and attempts in the field of the treatment of volatile organic solvent contaminated air, with the aim of finding a more efficient and less expensive process. In parallel with the traditional air treatment technologies, biological processes have emerged in recent years. Biofiltration appears to be a particularly preferred path due to its efficiency, its environmental aspects, and its lower costs. In this paper, the biofiltration technology is positioned in relation to conventional techniques and other biological air treatments. Subsequently, after a short historical account of biofiltration, the focus is put on the main objective of this literature review, presenting the current knowledge about the basic principles of the process, its applicability, operational conditions that influence performance and reliability of this process, and recent developments in mathematical biofilter modeling. Finally, industrial applications and biofiltration processing costs are briefly discussed.