Microbial populations analysis and field application of biofilter for the removal of volatile-sulfur compounds from swine wastewater treatment system

A biofilter packed with granular activated carbon (GAC) was applied to eliminate volatile-sulfur compounds (VSC) emitted from solid–liquid separation tank in swine wastewater treatment system. Hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, dimethyl disulfide, and dimethyl sulfide were effectively reduced to 96–100% at gas residence times of 13–30 s. Elemental sulfur and sulfate are their primary oxidation metabolites. Regarding odor, an average of 86% reduction was achieved at short residence time (13 s). In addition, bioaerosol emissions could also be effectively reduced by 90% with the biofilter. Advantages of the system include low moisture demand, low pressure drop, and high biofilm stability. Further characterization of bacterial populations of the activated carbon samples using the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) technique revealed that Pseudomonas sp. remained the predominant community (56–70%) after long-term evaluation of 415 days.