The main goal of this work has been that of optimizing the operating conditions of a biofilter, intended for the control of methane, an important greenhouse gas widely emitted by older or smaller landfill installations.The specific objectives were: (1) to select a suitable packing material (of organic or inorganic type); (2) to optimize the concentrations of input nutrients, mainly consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and copper, which are intended to be introduced via the nutrient solution; (3) to determine the optimized values of the most important design parameters, such as the methane inlet load (which depends on the air flow rate and the inlet methane concentration); and (4) to model the biofilter performance. Firstly, the comparison of the two packing materials, one of organic type, and the other of inorganic type, has revealed that the latter was the more appropriate material for the methane biofiltration. Then, through the use of the selected packing material, the influence of each individual nutrient on the efficiency of the process has been investigated.The results obtained have shown that both nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations have to be controlled, while potassium and copper were revealed as being nutrients of only minor importance. Secondly, the optimization of the inlet gas flow rate and of the inlet methane concentration (and consequently, of the methane inlet load also), has been performed. According to the results of the studies, these parameters require good control during methane biofiltration because a limitation in biofilter performance could otherwise be induced. In addition, it was noted that the increase in the inlet gas flow rate led generally to a greater decrease of the methane conversion than the one induced by the inlet methane concentration. Finally, a new method, based on the use of solid extracts sampled from the methane biofilter, has been applied to the determination of methane biofilter kinetic parameters. Following this study, a steady state model of the methane biofiltration, taking into consideration the important operational parameters, as identified previously, has been developed. One particular feature of this model is that it takes into consideration the influence of the biofilter average temperature.The prediction results, obtained with the use of the model, have been successfully compared with the experimental results.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:usherbrooke.ca/oai:savoirs.usherbrooke.ca:11143/1911 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Nikiema, Sompassaté Josiane |
| Contributors | Heitz, Michèle |
| Publisher | Université de Sherbrooke |
| Source Sets | Université de Sherbrooke |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thèse |
| Rights | © Sompassaté Josiane Nikiema |
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