In this study, the performance of a rotating biological contactor (RBC) treating complex mixtures of VOCs
commonly found in surface coating manufacturing and application facilities was evaluated. The effects of
inlet loading rate (ILR) and empty bed residence time (EBRT) on elimination capacity (EC) and removal
efficiency (RE) were evaluated. Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methyl iso-butyl ketone (MIBK), ethylbenzene,
o-xylene and toluene (T) were taken as model pollutants. The performance of RBC was evaluated
while treating single pollutants and various combinations of pollutants (two, three and five). Though
the elimination capacity varied at different phases, the system recorded a maximum elimination capacity
of 569 g/m3/h. While ketones were biodegraded mostly in the first two discs of RBC near the inlet,
degradation of aromatics utilized the full reactor length. Shut-down of the circulating liquid flow affected
the reactor performance more than shut-down of gas-flow or rotation of the discs. Shock–load of toluene
had significant adverse effect on the reactor performance while that of ketone had no residual impact on
the performance of RBC.