Effects of Packing Material Type on n-Pentane/Biomass Partition Coefficient for Use in Fungal Biofilters

A. Vergara-Fernández, O. Soto-Sánchez and J. Vásquez

Abstract
The partition coefficient between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and biomass is one of the most representative parameters in hydrophobic VOCs biofiltration. In this study, the n-pentane/dry-biomass partition coefficient (KP B D/ ) was determined in microcosms for the filamentous fungus Fusarium solani, it was grown in four packing materials (compost, peat, perlite and vermiculite) at different temperatures (15 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C). The results show that the n-pentane/wet-biomass partition coefficients (KP B W / ) for all experiments in organic packing material were on average 160-fold lower (0.21 ± 0.09) than those in water (33.2 ± 9.4), while for inorganic packing material on average 700-fold lower (0.05 ± 0.04). On the other hand, it was observed that the KP B W / for the fungus grown in an inorganic packing material was on average 4-fold lower than when grown in organic packing material. In conclusion, the use of inorganic packing material increases the solubility (lower KP B W / ) of n-pentane, increasing the elimination capacity in fungal biofilter.

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Keywords
Partition coefficient, biofiltration, Fusarium solani, n-pentane, hydrophobic VOCs