Congratulations to Professor Pranas Baltrėnas and Professor Edita Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė from the university’s Research Institute of Environmental Protection for this breakthrough! Their powerful vertical biofilter developed from an earlier idea removes organic pollutants from the air.
Clearing the air
Foul odours are the inevitable by-product of certain industries, among them agri-business where odour pollution can be a serious problem for people living nearby and also farm workers themselves.
“People living near large farms often complain about the odour. Farmers can now use our biofilter to clean the air in enclosed spaces (farm buidings) before it escapes into the atmosphere. The result is cleaner air and reduced levels of odour made possible by a filter that recycles air that is almost odourless”, noted our scientists.
When discharged into the atmosphere toxic organic chemicals such as acetone, dyes, selenium, ammonia, etc, destroy the ozone layer and add to the impact of climate change. Over time they accumulate and poison the human body, causing diseases and various forms of cancer. Agriculture, energy and oil extracting industries, and furniture manufacturing industry are among the main emitters of these chemical pollutants.
How it works
The biofilter is made from vertical tubes filled with bio-charcoal and special wood fibres aligned in multiple planes. High temperature and high-pressure treatment of the wood fibres makes them resistant to decay. Under favourable conditions – moisture and higher temperatures – microorganisms begin to appear in the tubes, cleaning the flow of air by removing organic materials and chemical pollutants allowing clean air leaves the biofilter.
The filters can be used anywhere where large amounts of organic pollutants are emitted, for example in furniture manufacturing plants, during painting or varnishing processes, or agriculture where large amounts of ammonia are emitted.
Leading the way
Right now, according to Professor Baltrėnas, only a small number of businesses use biological treatment equipment, most of which is the older generation of filter cassette. This type of filter cleans polluted air relatively efficiently, but only if more filter cassettes are used. However, if the number of filter cassettes is too high then air cannot exit and eventually blocks the filter. Researchers at VGTU have overcome this problem by designing filters that use vertical tubes that minimises air resistance.
Sustainability
One of the advantages of this new equipment is its longevity. That’s because bio-charcoal has a long life and wood fibres are highly resistant to decay. In fact, the biofilter designed by VGTU’s scientists can be used for 10 years or longer. What’s more, the microorganisms in the filter clean the air, leaving no waste.
Once again, congratulations to Professor Pranas Baltrėnas and Professor Edita Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė.
