A bioscrubber for hydrogen sulphide removal

Abstract

A study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of using treated wastewater effluent to support the operation of a fixed-film bioscrubber for odorous H2S removal. A laboratory scale fixed-film bioscrubber was set up using bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus. The bacteria were isolated from a sample of municipal sludge, cultured in the laboratory and immobilised onto the scrubber's plastic packing media by an immersion method. Series of experimental runs were carried out to determine the optimal operational conditions for the bioscrubber. Results indicated that for the gas retention times equal to or exceeding five seconds, and with a H2S loading rate below 90 g-H2S/m3-hr, the bioscrubber could remove H2S and odour with efficiencies greater than 99%. The behaviour of the bio-scrubber under various operation scenarios are presented and discussed in this paper.