Removal of hydrogen sulfide generated during anaerobic treatment of sulfate-laden wastewater using biochar: Evaluation of efficiency and mechanisms

Jarupat Kanjanarong; Balendu S Giri; Deb P Jaisi; Fernanda R Oliveira; Piyarat Boonsawang; Sumate Chaiprapat; R S Singh; Avula Balakrishna; Samir Kumar Khanal

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.03.009

Removal of hydrogen sulfide generated during anaerobic treatment of sulfate-laden wastewater using biochar: Evaluation of efficiency and mechanisms

Bioresour Technol. 2017 Jun:234:115-121. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.03.009. Epub 2017 Mar 4.

Authors

Jarupat Kanjanarong¹, Balendu S Giri², Deb P Jaisi³, Fernanda R Oliveira⁴, Piyarat Boonsawang¹, Sumate Chaiprapat⁵, R S Singh⁶, Avula Balakrishna³, Samir Kumar Khanal⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial Biotechnology, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
² Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India; Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI 96822, USA.
³ Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
⁴ Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI 96822, USA.
⁵ Energy Technology Research Institute, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand.
⁶ Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India.
⁷ Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: khanal@hawaii.edu.

PMID: 28319759
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2017.03.009

Abstract

Removal of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from biogas was investigated in a biochar column integrated with a bench-scale continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) treating sulfate-laden wastewater. Synthetic wastewater containing sulfate concentrations of 200-2000mg SO₄^2-/L was used as substrate, and the CSTR was operated at an organic loading rate of 1.5g chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L·day and a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 20days. The biochar was able to remove about 98.0 (±1.2)% of H₂S for the ranges of concentrations from 105-1020ppmv, especially at high moisture content (80-85%). Very high H₂S adsorption capacity (up to 273.2±1.9mg H₂S/g) of biochar is expected to enhance the H₂S oxidation into S⁰ and sulfate. These findings bring a potentially novel application of sulfur-rich biochar as a source of sulfur, an essential but often deficient micro-nutrient in soils.

Keywords: Anaerobic treatment; Biochar; Biogas cleaning; Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) removal; Micro-nutrient; Sulfate-laden waste streams.

MeSH terms

Bioreactors
Hydrogen Sulfide / chemistry*
Sewage / chemistry
Sulfates
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Wastewater*

Substances

Sewage
Sulfates
Waste Water
Hydrogen Sulfide