Removal of hydrogen sulfide by immobilized biological reactor

H2S is most widely emitted from factories and waste treatment facilities. An innovative biological reactor, commonly used in wastewater treatment, is developed in this study to remove H2S gas. Screening of appropriate microorganisms from sludge, soil, pig feces or wastewater has been initially carried out. A dominant and heterotrophic bacterium has been cultivated in a mass quantity, which are then immobilized with Ca-alginate to form the bead. A glass column (60 mm i X 450 mm) packed with the immobilized cells have been performed in a continuous mode. Extensive tests have been conducted to evaluate the effect of the operating parameters such as temperature, retention time, and gas concentration on the removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide. The criterion for a scale-up design of biofilter was established. These results indicated a significant deodorizing effect was observed from the operation of immobilized column. The removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide attained up to 97% for one week at least regardless of flow rates for. The maximum inlet loading in the linear region was found to be 1.9 g-S/d kg dry bead. The results suggested that the immobilized biological reactor becomes a potential method to remove hydrogen sulfide.