Bioreactors for control of air pollution in industries

One of the major sources of air pollution is industries. Many industries do not use conventional technologies; including physicochemical processes to control gaseous contaminants because of the high cost. Bioreactors are an appropriate option for controlling gaseous pollutions in the industry.In this paper, some of the most recent articles on biological reactor for air pollution control have been reviewed.The most common type of bioreactors in industrial air pollution controls are bio filters. In the bio filter some natural materials such as gardening and agricultural wastes, wood chips and composts are used as beds for living of microbes. Bio filters are very efficient for removing gaseous pollutions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and hydrocarbons (HCs) from stacks of industries. These organic beds usually can supply most of the macronutrients needed to grow the biomass. The beds must be replaced every 2 to 5 years, depending on the type of material. The capital and operational cost of bioreactors is usually much lower than conventional control devices. Bioreaction is a green process, whereas the conventional technologies are expensive and not green.