FGM - Biofilters for Odor Control

Advantages

• First of all a low installation cost . The construction materials of most biofilters are common materials that are easy to find on the market such as wood, plastic pipes, gravel. Therefore it is possible to build a biofilter with the help of a good construction company or excavation and earthmoving company.
• Also a low cost of operation provided that the incoming pre-treatments are few. These cost items are basically three:
• Electricity to run the electric motors of the fan and irrigation pumps.
• Occasional labor to control the process.
• Small amounts of macronutrients
• Biofilters have a high removal efficiency for some pollutants such as aldehydes, organic acids, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide and sulphidic acid (or hydrogen sulphide).

Disadvantages

• Well-designed odor control biofilters with traditional design require a large area of clear ground.
• Adjusting the pH of the filter media bed is very complicated, as is adding nutrients.
• The traditional design lacks coverage, making it very difficult to obtain representative tests to determine abatement efficiency.
• The filter mass bed must be replaced every 2 – 5 years. The replacement of this mass may require longer or shorter plant shutdowns depending on the size of the biofilter.
• The leachate produced by the biofilter must be managed: purified or evacuated.