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Removal of high concentrations of H 2 S from simulated natural gas by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans immobilized on polyurethane foam
Author(s) -
Cheng Rong,
Zhou Wei,
Lin Lin,
Xie Tonghui,
Zhang Yongkui
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.3854
Subject(s) - ferrous , flue gas desulfurization , acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans , polyurethane , bioreactor , hydrogen sulfide , chemical engineering , chemistry , bioleaching , biological oxidation , sulfur , materials science , nuclear chemistry , waste management , organic chemistry , copper , wastewater , engineering
A chemo‐biochemical process for desulfurization of simulated natural gas containing hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) was investigated. The results showed that using polyurethane foam as a support for immobilization of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans obtained good biological oxidation performance and the maximum oxidation rate of ferrous iron was 4.12 kg m −3 h −1 . Moreover, a semi‐empirical formula was set up for calculating theoretical ferrous oxidation rate as a function of influent Fe 2+ and Fe 2+ concentration in the bioreactor. The integrated chemical and biological process achieved removal efficiencies of about 80% when treating high concentrations of H 2 S (15 000 ± 100 ppmv). © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry