Numerical simulation of gas flow through a biofilter in lung tissues

Abstract

Nanoparticles are potentially hazardous to human health; thus, it is necessary to control their motion in air. We need a biofilter to protect from nanoparticles which enter human lung and damage it. Biofiltration refers to the biological transformation or treatment of contaminants present in the gas phase, usually air. Biofilter is typically a porous media. Supported on the ideal biofilter model, numerical simulation is carried out to examine the effect of Darcy number and porosity on removal efficiency of low headloss biofilter. The generalized Navier-Stokes equations are applied making various hypotheses. It is found that the Darcy number has determinant influence on the removal efficiency, and the effect of porosity on removal efficiency is very weak at lower Darcy numbers but very strong at higher Darcy numbers. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of Darcy number and porosity on air removal efficiency of biofilter.