| This research evaluates the potential to couple ultraviolet (UV) photo-induced oxidation with biofiltration for air treatment by: identifying possible synergistic scenarios, developing a protocol to experimentally evaluate one chosen scenario, and experimentally testing the chosen scenario. Four scenarios were identified: three scenarios with photo-induced oxidation followed by biofiltration, and one scenario with biofiltration followed by photo-induced oxidation. To evaluate the pre-treatment scenario with photooxidation, α-pinene and o-xylene contaminated streams with inlet loadings of 250 to 2500hg/m3/h were passed through a UV annular reactor equipped with a UV lamp (emission at 254nm and 185nm wavelengths). Photooxidation effectively removed α-pinene and o-xylene from the stream with a maximum removal rate of 704 and 692g/m 3/h, respectively. 52%(α-pinene) and 39%(o-xylene) of the inlet total organic carbon removed was water-soluble. In addition, the photooxidation by-products were more biodegradable than their parent compounds. Therefore, the coupling of UV photooxidation and biofiltration for air treatment is promising. |
