Biological treatment of styrene-containing exhaust air
For an industrial client, PlasmaAir AG built a biological exhaust air purification system to remove styrene from an airflow of 10,000 m³/h.
The production of electric motors generates exhaust air containing styrene, which must be treated reliably and continuously. As an alternative to incineration, a biological process offers an economical and sustainable solution, designed on the basis of real-world operating experience from a pilot plant.
PlasmaAir AG has developed a two-stage biological exhaust air treatment system:
A pre-scrubber cleans and humidifies the exhaust air in the first stage before it is fed to the two parallel fixed-bed biofilters.
In the biofilters, microorganisms biologically break down the styrene; caustic soda dosing and fertiliser addition ensure optimal degradation conditions.
The wastewater from the biofilters is returned to the pre-scrubber, where the water reservoir serves as an additional treatment stage. The irrigation water for the biofilters is also drawn from it.
All utility equipment—caustic soda dosing, fertiliser addition and control cabinet—is housed compactly in a technical container.
PID measuring systems with heated lines continuously monitor the styrene concentration in the exhaust air.
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