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Fully aerobic two‐step desulfurization process for purification of highly H 2 S‐laden biogas
Author(s) -
Quijano Guillermo,
FigueroaGonzález Ivonne,
Buitrón Germán
Publication year - 2018
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.5732
Subject(s) - flue gas desulfurization , biogas , aeration , sulfur , chemistry , bioreactor , pulp and paper industry , air stripping , data scrubbing , chromatography , waste management , environmental science , environmental engineering , wastewater , organic chemistry , engineering
Abstract BACKGROUND A two‐step desulfurization technology coupling an absorption column with an airlift bioreactor (ALR) provided with continuous aeration was studied. This setup allowed the full oxygenation of the liquid phase, overcoming the typical issues of aerobic biotrickling filters such as elemental sulfur accumulation, biogas dilution or generation of explosive mixtures. RESULTS Removal efficiencies of 100% were achieved under all the S‐H 2 S inlet loading rates tested (28, 56 and 112 gS‐H 2 S m −3 h −1 ). The main sulfur compound in the liquid phase was SO 4 2− regardless of the inlet load tested with and average sulfur oxidation performance of ∼80%. The robustness of the desulfurization system over a 7‐days shutdown period was also evaluated. H 2 S removal efficiency of 100% was recorded only 10 h after restarting the system without H 2 S stripping from the ALR. The microbial communities present in the inoculum and those established in the desulfurization system at the end of the experimental time were characterized by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. CONCLUSION Biogas laden with H 2 S concentrations ranging from 2500 to 10 000 ppm v was successfully desulfurized in the fully aerobic two‐step process presented. High and stable removal performance was achieved even after a long‐term shutdown period. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry