Retrofitting existing chemical scrubbers to biotrickling filters for H2S emission control.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Biological treatment is a promising alternative to conventional air-pollution control methods, but thus far biotreatment processes for odor control have always required much larger reactor volumes than chemical scrubbers. We converted an existing full-scale chemical scrubber to a biological trickling filter and showed that effective treatment of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the converted scrubber was possible even at gas contact times as low as 1.6 s. That is 8-20 times shorter than previous biotrickling filtration reports and comparable to usual contact times in chemical scrubbers. Significant removal of reduced sulfur compounds, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds present in traces in the air was also observed. Continuous operation for >8 months showed stable performance and robust behavior for H2S treatment, with pollutant-removal performance comparable to that achieved by using a chemical scrubber. Our study demonstrates that biotrickling filters can replace chemical scrubbers and be a safer, more economical technique for odor control.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Gabriel, D; Deshusses, MA
Published Date
- May 9, 2003
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 100 / 11
Start / End Page
- 6308 - 6312
PubMed ID
- 12740445
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC164442
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1091-6490
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0027-8424
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1073/pnas.0731894100
Language
- eng