1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 1 Hexane abatement and spore emission control in a fungal biofilter-photoreactor hybrid unit Saucedo-Lucero J.O 1,2 , Quijano G 1 , Arriaga S 2 , Muñoz R 1 * 1- Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology. University of Valladolid. Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain. Phone: +34983186424, Fax: +34983423013. 2- IPICyT, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica, División de Ciencias Ambientales, Camino a la Presa San José No. 2055, C.P. 78216 San Luis Potosí, México. *Author for correspondence: mutora@iq.uva.es . Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology. University of Valladolid. Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain. Phone: +34983186424, Fax: +34983423013. Abstract The performance of a fungal perlite-based biofilter coupled to a post-treatment photoreactor was evaluated over 234 days in terms of n-hexane removal, emission and deactivation of fungal spores. The biofilter and photoreactor were operated at gas residence times of 1.20 and 0.14 min, respectively, and a hexane loading rate of 115 ±5 g m -3 h -1 . Steady n-hexane elimination capacities of 30-40 g m -3 h -1 were achieved, concomitantly with pollutant mineralization efficiencies of 60-90 %. No significant influence of biofilter irrigation frequency or irrigation nitrogen concentration on hexane abatement was recorded. Photolysis did not support an efficient hexane post-treatment *Revised Manuscript Click here to view linked References