In recent years, application of biological techniques
for industrial VOC abatement has gained popularity because they
eliminate many of the drawbacks of classical physico-chemical
techniques. The disadvantages of the traditionally used air
treatment techniques are high-energy costs (incinerators), use of chemicals, which can be costly to procure or dispose of and require
special operational safety procedures (chemical scrubbers) and the
production of waste products like spent chemical solutions or
spent activated-carbon. Biofilters, originally evolved as odor
removal technique are by far the oldest and most widely applied
biological treatment technique for waste gas. Biological air pollution
control technologies include biofilters, bioscrubbers, biotrickling
filters, all operating with the same fundamental mechanism
of contaminant sorption and biodegradation