A process for purifying polluted air, includes passing polluted air through a fluidized bed of micro-organism-containing primary particulate media so that, as the polluted air passes through the fluidized bed, organic pollutants therein are removed by the micro-organisms. Partially purified air containing a lower level of the organic pollutants than the polluted air that enters the fluidized bed, emerges from the fluidized bed. The partially purified air is passed through a static bed of secondary particulate media thereby to remove residual organic pollutants from the partially purified air. Purified air is thus produced.

A system for removing undesirable compounds from contaminated air includes a biofilter having porous glass media. Hydrogen sulfide is removed from contaminated air by passing the contaminated air through the biofilter.

Disclosed is a coating composition for preventing odor. The coating composition may include one or more types of odorless microorganisms selected from the group consisting of Caulobacter vibrioides, Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens, Bradyrhizobium daqingense and Methylobacterium brachiatum or a culture solution thereof. Further provided is a method for preventing odor, and the method may include applying the coating composition for preventing odor. When a biofilm is formed from the microorganisms in the coating composition by coating an object on which an odor-causing microorganism can live, the inflow and the inhabitation of external microorganisms generating odor may be significantly blocked, thereby enabling odor to be effectively prevented.

The method of the disclosure comprises fermenting a gas substrate and a microorganism to generate a fermentation broth comprising the microorganism and the target component; passing the fermentation broth to a separation unit having an ion exchange resin in a continuous ion exchange simulated moving bed; selectively retaining the target component through ion exchange with the resin while passing the microorganism through the bed; regenerating the ion exchange resin; and recovering the target component. Alternatively, the fermentation broth is passed to a first separation zone to separate and recycle a first portion of the fermentation broth comprising the microorganism to the bioreactor and then a second portion of the fermentation broth is passed to a second separation zone comprising ion exchange resin which selectively retains the target component through ion exchange with the resin. The remainder is passed through. The ion exchange resin is regenerated, and the target component recovered.

The present invention relates to a method of extracting carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) gas from an aqueous solution comprising dissolved CO.sub.2, the method comprising: (a) contacting the aqueous solution with dissolved CO.sub.2 with an organic phase; (b) heating the aqueous solution and the organic phase to a temperature of at least 50 C., whereby the CO.sub.2 migrates from the aqueous solution to the organic phase; and (c) separating the CO.sub.2 from the organic phase, wherein the aqueous solution comprises at least 50% water by weight at a temperature of 10 C. to and a base; the organic phase has a higher CO.sub.2 solubility relative to water solubility; and the aqueous solution and the organic phase are in direct contact with each other and are maintained as two separate phases.

A method and apparatus for cleaning a contaminated air stream, the method comprising the step of passing the contaminated air stream through a multistage cleaning reactor, wherein at least two stages of the multistage cleaning reactor comprise marine shell material.

A method for producing methane by biological conversion of carbon dioxide is performed using a symbiosis between one or more methane-generating bacteria and: (i) one or more hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or (ii) one or more sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, wherein the hetero-autotrophic cyanobacteria and/or microalgae, or the sulfobacteria and/or acetobacteria, produce the molecular hydrogen required for the conversion of carbon dioxide into methane performed by the methane-generating bacteria.

Methods for enzyme-enhanced CO.sub.2 capture include contacting a CO.sub.2-containing gas with an aqueous absorption solution at process conditionssuch as high temperature, high pH, and/or using carbonate-based solutionsin the presence of Thermovibrio ammonificans carbonic anhydrase (TACA) or functional derivative thereof for catalyzing the hydration reaction of CO.sub.2 into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions and/or catalyzing the desorption reaction to produce a CO.sub.2 gas. The TACA may be provided to flow with the solution to cycle through a CO.sub.2 capture system that includes an absorber and a stripper.

A method for recovering sulfur within a gas processing system is described herein. The method includes contacting a natural gas stream including an acid gas with a solvent stream within a co-current contacting system to produce a sweetened natural gas stream and a rich solvent stream including an absorbed acid gas. The method also includes removing the absorbed acid gas from the rich solvent stream within a regenerator to produce a concentrated acid gas stream and a lean solvent stream. The method further includes recovering elemental sulfur from hydrogen sulfide (H.sub.2S) within the concentrated acid gas stream via a sulfur recovery unit.

Culture systems and methods of using same. The systems include a housing defining an inner space. The inner space includes a headspace and at least a portion of a reservoir. A surface for immobilizing cells is moveable between the headspace and the reservoir. The systems can be used for coculturing methanotrophs and phototrophs for processing biogas and wastewater, particularly from anaerobic digesters.