Reduction of airborne microorganisms from an intensive composting cycle using a bioscrubber - biofilter combination

The quantitative and qualitative modifications of the composition of airbor ne microorganisms were examined during a seven week period of an intensive composting cyclus. The air sampling at different process levels of a combin ed biological air cleaning system was carded out at a bench scale plant (ai rflow of 2 m(3)/h) at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg. The resu lts show that closed biofilters can effectively reduce microbial and fungal emissions that originate from biowaste processing. Even though the biofilt er is mainly responsible for the reduction, it has also been proven that al so the bioscrubber reduces the emissions of thermophilic microorganisms in particular. Detected microorganisms in the ,,treated" air are regarded as s econdary emissions of the biologically active biofilter system. The combina tion of both systems (bioscrubber. biofilter) has shown to be an effective measure for the emission control of bioaerosols in waste management.