Autotrophic deodorization of hydrogen sulfide in a biotrickling filter

Abstract

Abstract The removal of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) from airstreams was studied in a biotrickling filter (BTF) packed with plastic Pall rings operating with counter‐current flows of the air and liquid streams. Experiments were performed at different inlet H 2 S concentrations, air and/or liquid volumetric flow rates, and sulfate concentrations in the recirculating liquid to check their effect on the performance of the BTF. Conversion of H 2 S never dropped below 80% at the highest concentration and reached 100% at low concentrations. A maximum removal rate of 22.5 g H 2 S m −3 reactor h −1 was observed with 100% removal efficiency. The shortest empty bed retention time studied at which complete H 2 S removal was observed was around 11 s. Conversion of H 2 S was found to slightly increase as the liquid flow rate decreased and as the air flow rate increased. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry