| The oil industry flares or vents to the atmosphere more than one billion m3 of methane-rich solution gas each year. Considering the potential global warming impacts, there is a need to identify alternative methods to control solution gas emissions to the atmosphere. This research is focused on assessing the viability of using actively aerated soil biofilters as an alternative technique to control solution gas related methane emissions. In addition, the effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in solution gas on methane conversion by methanotrophic bacteria was investigated. The research confirmed a high methane oxidation rate of 705 g/m2/day using actively aerated biofilter columns. This value is 200--300% more than rates reported for passively aerated biofilters. This study also showed that methane oxidation is not affected by the presence of low concentrations of VOCs. |
