Application of loofah and insects in a bio-trickling filter to relieve clogging.

Bio-trickling filters (BTFs) use an inert filler to purify pollutants making them prone to clogging due to bacterial accumulation. To investigate the performance of a non-inert filler in BTF and its cooperation with insects to relieve clogging, a vertical BTF was constructed with a loofah/Pall ring/polydimethylsiloxane composite filler and selected bacteria to purify toluene. The BTF was started up within 17 d and restarted within 3 d after starvation for 12-16 d. Its average removal efficiency was >90% at steady state. The maximum elimination capacity of 86.4 g·(m·h) was obtained at a volume capacity of 96.2 g·(m·h). The introduction of holometabolous insects (Clogmia albipunctata) rapidly removed the biofilm and accelerated the degradation of the loofah, which alleviated clogging. Furthermore, confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) observations showed that the biofilm polysaccharides were difficult to remove, while lipids were readily lost. Analysis of microbial diversity over time and space revealed that the dominant bacterium, Comamonas, was replaced by diverse microflora with no obvious dominant genus. Insect introduction and loofah migration had little effect on the evolution of microflora. This study provides a promising approach to operating BTFs with less clogging.