A Bioscrubber generally consists of a scrubber compartment and a regeneration compartment. In the scrubber zone, which may be a spray column in which finely distributed water droplets flow countercurrently with the waste gas, there is a continuous mass transfer of pollutants and oxygen from the waste gas to the liquid phase.
The rate of mass transfer of a given compound is determined by the product of the overall transfer coefficients, the total contact area in the column, and the average driving force. Hence, the absorption of a compound will be higher if its concentration in the washwater is low and its solubility in water higher.
Substances absorbed in the water will be oxidized through microbal activity and eliminated from the liquid phase by an activated sludge suspension in a regeneration compartment.
Mixing either by stirring or by aeration my be necessary to prevent sedimentation of the microbial sludge suspension. Physical and chemical conditions such as temperature, pH value, carbon to nitrogen to phosphorus ratio need to be adjusted to assure optimal microbial oxidation.