Abstract

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) is one of the main odor causing, toxic, and corrosive chemicals found in wastewater treatment, pulp and paper and several other industries. One of the main challenges of winter operation of biofilters for H₂S removal is to deal with the heat effects of biofiltration process. During winter lower air temperature, snow fall on biofilter vessels and moisture condensation in air ducts decrease percent removal of H₂S significantly. In this work, laboratory and field data that are collected during winter operation of biofilters are analyzed and presented. The results demonstrate that temperature within the biofilter should be maintained at a minimum of 15°C to avoid lower percent removal or odor breakthrough resulting from untreated H₂S emissions in the air. It was found that heat input to the incoming air by steam addition easily remedy the problem.

Recommended Citation

Shareefdeen, Zarook M. and Hashim, Mohd Ali (2009) "Winter Operation of Biofilters for Hydrogen Sulphide Removal," International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering: Vol. 7: A48.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/ijcre/vol7/A48