This content is not included in
your SAE MOBILUS subscription, or you are not logged in.
Removal of Trace Concentrations of Ethylene from Air by Biofiltration: Preliminary Results
Annotation ability available
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
A current study is investigating the feasibility of using air treatment biofilters to remove ethylene from atmospheres of Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems for spacecraft or planetary habitat environments. Ethylene was selected as the contaminant because: 1) it partitions poorly in water, thus challenging the limits of biofilter performance; and 2) it is a plant growth regulator that can adversely affect plant growth even at concentrations as low as 40 parts per billion (ppb). Thus control of ethylene in a biomass production chamber (BPC) is of direct concern. In laboratory scale studies ethylene was removed from air to below a target level of 20 ppb, with 4 ppb being the lowest exit concentration observed. This performance (<20 ppb) was observed for 12 days, with exit concentrations gradually increasing to 70 - 100 ppb by day 55. The decreased level of performance was apparently due to nutrient (nitrogen) limitation. No ethylene removal by the biofilter receiving air containing 1 ppm ethylene was observed, perhaps, because the loading rate was insufficient to maintain an active culture. Work is underway to further investigate these limits to enable improvement in biofilter performance.
Authors
Topic
Citation
Tambwekar, J., Cowan, R., Joshi, J., Strom, P. et al., "Removal of Trace Concentrations of Ethylene from Air by Biofiltration: Preliminary Results," SAE Technical Paper 981614, 1998, https://doi.org/10.4271/981614.Also In
References
- Lange, K.E. Lin, C.H. 1998 Requirements definition and technology development needs Advanced Life Support Program. Crew and Thermal Systems Division NASA-Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston TX
- Verschueren, K. 1977 Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. New York, NY 313
- Wheeler, R.M. Peterson B.V. Sager J.C. Knott W.M. 1996 Ethylene production by plants in a closed environment Adv. Space Res. 18 4 5 193 196
- Joshi, J.A. Cowan R.M. Hogan J.A. Strom P.F. Finstein M.S. 1997 Biological removal of ammonia in biofilters Air and Waste Manag. Assoc. 90th Annual meeting and exhibition June 8 13
- Cowan, R.M. Russell J. Strom P. F. 1998 Removal of volatile organics from air using biofilters: Theoretical and design aspects The Third International Conference on Life Support and Biosphere Science Jan 11 14
- de Bont, JA.M 1976 Oxidation of ethylene by soil bacteria van Leeuwenhoek Antonie 42 59 71
- de Bont, J.A.M Albers, R.A.J.M 1976 Microbial metabolism of ethylene van Leeuwenhoek Antonie 42 73 80
- Wiegant, W.M. de Bont, J.A.M 1980 A new route for ethylene glycol metabolism in Mycobacterium E44 J. Gen. Microbiol 120 325 331
- Batten, J.H. Peterson B.V. Berdis E. Wheeler R.M. 1993 NASA Technical Memorandum
- van Ginkel, C. G. Welten H.G.J de Bont J.A.M. Boerrigter H.A.M. 1986 Removal of ethene to very low concentrations by immobilized Mycobacterium E3 J. Chem. Tech. Biotechnol. 36 593 598
- van Ginkel, C. G. Welten H.G.J de Bont J.A.M. 1987 Growth and stability of ethene-utilizing bacteria on compost at very low substrate concentrations FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 45 65 69
- De Heyder, B. Smet E. Verstraete W. van Langenhove H. 1992 Biotechnological removal of ethene from waste gases Biotechniques for Air Pollution and Odour Control Policies Dragt A.J. van Ham J. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V 309 312
- De Heyder, B. van Elst T. van Langenhove H. Verstraete W. 1997 Enhancement of ethene removal from waste gas by stimulating nitrification Biodegradation 8 21 30
- Ottengraf, S.P.P. van Den Oever A.H.C. Kempenaars F.J.C.M. 1984 Waste gas purification in a biological filter bed Innovations in Biotechnology Houwink E.H. van der Meer R.R. Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. Amsterdam
- Cowan, R.M. Joshi J.A. Strom P.F. Finstein M.S. 1997 Biological Processes for Air Trace Contaminants Control in ALS SAE Technical Series No. 972552
- Joshi, J.A. Cowan R.M. Hogan J.A. Strom P.F. Finstein M.S. 1998 Gaseous ammonia removal in biofilters: Effect of packing medium on nitrogen transformation SAE Technical Series No. 981613
- Daigger, G.T. 1979 The interaction of physiological adaptation and transport response for Pseudomonas putida and its implications for dynamic modeling of microbial growth Purdue University Lafayette, IN
- Freedman, D Herz S. D. 1996 Use of ethylene and ethane as primary substrates for aerobic metabolism of vinyl chloride Water Environ. Res. 68 3 320 328
- Butyrm, E. 1998 Determination of Ethylene by Adsorbent Trapping and Thermal Desorption - Gas Chromatography Poster presented at Pittsburgh Conference 1998 New Orleans, LA
- Keeney, D.R. Nelson, D.W. 1982 In Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2- Chemical and Microbiological Properties 2nd American Society of Agronomy, Inc. Madison Wisconsin, USA