Development of advanced biofiltration process for hydrogen sulphide control

• Main Author: Duan, Huiqi
• Other Authors: Lawrence C.C. Koe
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Environmental engineering::Waste management
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/12059
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Odor emission is a severe problem common to most wastewater treatment operations and particularly significant at urban treatment plants. Economical advantages coupled with environmental benefits make the process of odor biofiltration an attractive option, compared to the current chemical scrubber and activated carbon techniques. However, there still exist inefficiencies pertaining to the media used in biofiltration processes, such as the need for adequate residence time, limited life-time, and pore blockage of the media, which at present, render the technology economically unattractive. This study aims to develop a novel active medium, termed as biological activated carbon (BAC), through bacteria immobilization on activated carbon, a supporting medium with generally high specific surface area. It is expected that BAC could provide improved performance in removal of the major odorous pollutants such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) from the sewage air, by achieving an optimum balance and combination of the media adsorption capacity with the biodegradation of H2S through the bacteria immobilized on the BAC.