Author(s)

Tania Surya Utami, Heri Hermansyah, Mohamad Nasikin

Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia.

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) gas is a fourth contributor in the greenhouse effect after CO₂, CH₄, and water vapor. Although its concentration is relatively low, but very difficult to be decomposed in the atmosphere. A laboratory-scale biofilter was used to evaluate the effects of flow rate, medium depth, and water content of filter medium on the N₂O removal efficiency and the growth of microorganisms in the compost. The biofilter was operated using cow-manure based compost medium with husk and coco peat as bulking agent. Research was carried out by batch flow system for 9 hours. The result indicates that the highest N₂O removal efficiency is obtained under flow rate of 88 cm³/min with a depth of 50 cm and water content 50% (w/w) by 61%, and elimination capacity for 14078 g/(m³·h) was achieved.

Biofilter; Compost; Cow-Manure; Nitrous Oxide; Removal Efficiency

T. Surya Utami, H. Hermansyah and M. Nasikin, "Biofiltration of Nitrous Oxide Using Cow-Manure Based Compost as Medium Filter," Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 3 No. 7, 2012, pp. 584-588. doi: 10.4236/jep.2012.37070.