Estimating hydrogen sulphide dissipation rate constant under the influence of different chemical dosing

• The dissipation rate constant of H2S in a sewer was estimated.
• Methodology to compute the emission of H2S with different chemicals was developed.
• Concentration of H2S in the sewer atmosphere can be predicted without measuring it.
• Effectiveness in suppressing H2S gas emission: NaOH > Mg(OH)2 > FeCl3 > Ca(NO3)2.

Sewer odour and corrosion is caused by the reduction of sulphide ions and the release of hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) into the sewer atmosphere. The reduction of sulphide is determined by its dissipation rate which depends on many processes such as emission, oxidation and precipitation that prevail in wastewater environments. Two factors that mainly affect the dissipation of sulphide are sewer hydraulics and wastewater characteristics; modification to the latter by dosing certain chemicals is known as one of the mitigation strategies to control the dissipation of sulphide. This study investigates the dissipation of sulphide in the presence of NaOH, Mg(OH)2, Ca(NO3)2 and FeCl3 and the dissipation rate is developed as a function of hydraulic parameters such as the slope of the sewer and the velocity gradient. Experiments were conducted in a 18 m experimental sewer pipe with adjustable slope to which, firstly no chemical was added and secondly each of the above mentioned chemicals was supplemented in turn. A dissipation rate constant of 2 × 10−6 for sulphide was obtained from experiments with no chemical addition. This value was then used to predict the sulphide concentration that was responsible for the emission of H2S gas in the presence of one of the above mentioned four chemicals. It was found that the performance of alkali substances (NaOH and Mg(OH)2) in suppressing the H2S gas emission was excellent while ferric chloride showed a moderate mitigating effect due to its slow reaction kinetics. Calcium nitrate was of little value since the wastewater used in this study experienced almost no biological growth. Thus the effectiveness of selected chemicals in suppressing H2S gas emission had the following order: NaOH > Mg(OH)2 > FeCl3 > Ca(NO3)2.

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