Kinetics and biofiltration of dimethyl sulfide emitted from P&P industry

Anaerobic bio-treatment of waste air generated from various industries including pulp and paper (P&P) industry produce biogas containing reduced form of sulfur pollutants such as dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Some of the gaseous emissions containing DMS are also generated from several industrial wastes which are generally incinerated with high energy input. In the present investigation, a potential DMS degrading microorganism Bacillus sphaericus was isolated from garden soil near a P&P industry for biodegradation. Waste gas containing DMS has been treated in a hybrid biofilter system up to 70% removal efficiency, at an optimal load of 17.3 g/m3/h1 and an optimum effective bed contact time (EBCT) of 384 s. Growth kinetic for biodegradation was also evaluated through flask culture experiments. The values of the different biokinetic parameters for Ks, μmax, degradation of substrate (K) and Y were obtained as 0.022 g/m3, 0.0057 h−1 0.013 h−1 and 0.0022, respectively. The relevance in the context of DMS biodegradation is discussed.