Kinney already has performed experiments indicating that fungi actually eat VOCs, turning them into harmless byproducts. She also will investigate how fungal growth affects the performance of vapor phase bioreactors, devices that clean the air by removing gaseous contaminants. A bioreactor generally consists of a tall column packed with ceramic beads or other type of packing material that provides a medium on which bacteria grow. Bioreactors can range in size from a column a few feet high in the lab to multi-story facilities used in industrial plants. Most bioreactor systems rely on bacteria that occur naturally in the environment.
Air containing volatile organic compounds is pumped into the bioreactor as a food source.
At present, these devices are used to control odor at wastewater treatment plants and at industrial facilities to treat certain waste gas streams. Kinney's bioreactor relies on fungus instead of bacteria to break down pollutants. Kinney's bioreactor project is the first to try fungi on nitrogen oxides and among the first to use fungi on volatile organic compounds. Her preliminary research indicates that fungi consume VOCs more efficiently than bacteria, an important development because bioreactors that operate more efficiently could be used more widely in cleaning the air. Kinney said her bioreactor device has the potential to treat stationary pollution sources, such as paint spray booths, boilers and waste gas streams generated at industrial facilities.