Performance of a Biofilter for Odor Removal during Manure Composting

Odor generated during composting of livestock manure is mainly due to ammonia emission. Biofiltration is a desirable method to control composting odor. This study was conducted to analyze the efficiency of using fresh compost as a biofilter. A mixture of cattle manure and recycled compost was composted in a bin equipped with a suction-type blower. The exhaust gas was filtered through the fresh compost. Residence time was controlled by the flow rate of exhaust gas and the depth of filtering materials. At the aeration rate of 30 L/min(experiment I), ammonia reduction rate varied from 100% to -15% for biofilter A(residence time 56.5 s) and almost 100% for biofilter B(residence time 113 s). At the aeration rate of 30 L/min, the cumulative ammonia reduction rate was 80.5% for biofilter A and 99.9% for biofilter B. At the aeration rate of 50 L/min(experiment II), the lowest reduction rate showed a negative value of -350% on the 8th and 9th day for biofilter A(residence time 33.9 5), and 50% on the loth day for biofilter B(residence time 67.8s). At the aeration rate of 50 L/min, the cumulative ammonia reduction rate was 82.5% fur biofilter A and 97.4% for biofilter B. Filtering efficiency was influenced by residence time. The moisture content(MC) and total nitrogen(T-N) of the filtering material were increased by absorbing moisture and ammonia included in the exhaust gas, while pH was decreased and total carbon(T-C) remained unchanged during the filtering operation.