Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
www.elsevier.com/locate/procbio
Hydrogen sulfide removal by a novel fixed-film
bioscrubber system
S. Potivichayanon, P. Pokethitiyook *, M. Kruatrachue
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Received 24 May 2005; received in revised form 14 September 2005; accepted 16 September 2005
Abstract
The fixed-film bioscrubber was developed for hydrogen sulfide removal. Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 and Alcaligenes faecalis MU2_03 are two
new strains of microorganisms from the fixed-film bioscrubber systems found. Under certain conditions, they exhibited more than 91% of hydrogen
sulfide removal efficiency while a mixture of the two strains was capable of 98% hydrogen sulfide removal. Removal efficiency increased with
decreasing inlet gas flow rates, increasing the height of packing and empty bed retention time. During the operation, the pH decreased but did not
fall below 6.4. Sulfate production increased when the removal efficiency increased due to the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfate. In addition,
dissolved oxygen decreased during the same reaction.
# 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Hydrogen sulfide; Fixed-film bioscrubber; Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03; Alcaligenes faecalis MU2_03; Mixed culture; Removal efficiency
1. Introduction
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is produced naturally during the
reduction of sulfate and sulfur-containing organic compounds
by nonspecific anaerobic bacteria [1]. Its characteristic rotten
egg odor is a major nuisance in municipal, industrial and
biological waste treatment processes. H2S is readily soluble in
water and mobile in moist soil, aquatic and marine environments. Several microorganisms in soils, aquatic, and marine
environments can oxidize hydrogen sulfide to sulfate and
elemental sulfur.
Hydrogen sulfide is extremely toxic to living organisms and
plants. At a level of 05 ppm in the air, it can be detected easily.
Levels greater than 10 ppm, can affect human health, while
levels more than 600 ppm can cause death [2].
Methods for hydrogen sulfide removal in common use today
are physicochemical processes. These processes have high
operating costs and also produce chemical waste by-products
that must be disposed of before discharge. Recently, the
chemobiological processes are used for the gas treatment [3,4].
However, these processes still use the chemical reagent and
have acidic condition for the oxidation reaction which has
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +662 2015479; fax: +662 3547166.
E-mail address: scppg@mahidol.ac.th (P. Pokethitiyook).
1359-5113/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.procbio.2005.09.006
some cost of the operation. For these reasons, biological
processes are more attractive because they are inexpensive and
cause no environmental pollution. The major systems commonly used are biofilters, biotrickling filters and bioscrubbers
[5,6]. The basic removal mechanisms are similar for all
systems though differences exist in the phase of the microorganisms, which may be attached or suspended, and the phase
of the liquid, which may be flowing or stationary.
In bioscrubber systems, microorganisms are fixed or
suspended in an aqueous phase. In a suspended growth
bioscrubber, the microorganisms are dispersed freely throughout the liquid phase whereas in a fixed-film bioscrubber, the
microorganisms are immobilized on packing materials such as
glass, ceramics, metal, or plastic [7,8]. In addition, gas
absorption and degradation occur separately. Absorption may
be achieved in packed columns, spray towers, or bubble
columns. After absorption occurs degradation of gas is
performed. To achieve complete degradation, the liquid need
to be transferred to an aeration tank. Recycling the liquid media
can increase the gas removal efficiency and such a system in
appropriate for water soluble odors. In addition, bioscrubbers
have the advantage of better operation control over pH, nutrient
content, and gas flow rate [5,9].
Fixed-film bioscrubbers work in a similar manner to
biofilters but bioscrubbers can be operated with a much higher
inlet gas concentration and gas flow rate than biofilters. This
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
reduces space requirements and thereby construction costs [10].
The greatest advantage of bioscrubbers is their ability to deal
with high odor concentrations and also severe fluctuation. The
removal efficiencies of bioscrubbers are in the region of 90
99% [7,11].
The bioscrubber system used in this experiment was a fixedfilm bioscrubber or biotrickling filter [12]. It consisted of
immobilized microorganisms on plastic packing media (a gas
liquid contact column) and a recirculation tank where nutrients
were added. The media provide sites for biological colonization
and promote the mass transfer between gas and liquid phase on
the biomass where biological oxidation occurs [13].
The important parameters for operating bioscrubber systems
are types of microorganisms, recirculation rate of the liquid
media, type of packing materials, and the empty bed retention
time [12]. The removal efficiency can be increased by
manipulating the basic parameters for this system. For these
reasons, the objectives in this study were: (1) to isolate, identify
and compare the efficiency of different microorganisms found
and (2) to study the optimum operating parameters such as the
height of packing media, inlet H2S flow rate, liquid media flow
rate, and empty bed retention time (EBRT).
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Microorganisms and cultivation
Microorganisms were isolated from an aeration tank at Si-Phraya municipal
wastewater treatment plant in Bangkok and purified by repeatedly transferring
the cells to fresh medium. A thiosulfate broth (TSB) composition of KH2PO4
2.0 g l 1; K2HPO4 2.0 g l 1; NH4Cl 0.4 g l 1; MgCl26H2O 0.2 g l 1; FeSO47H2O 0.01 g l 1 and Na2S2O35H2O 8.0 g l 1 was the medium used for
sulfur oxidizing bacteria culture. The final pH of the medium was adjusted to 7
by 1N NaOH and 1N HCl. The medium was autoclaved for 15 min at 15 psi and
121 8C before use. Bacto Agar (18 g l 1) was added when the medium agar was
used. About 10 ml of microorganisms were inoculated into 100 ml of nutrient
broth (composition: yeast extract 5.0 g l 1; bacto tryptone 10.0 g l 1; glucose
2.0 g l 1 and the final pH adjusted to 7) and incubated for 7 days at 30 8C in a
rotary shaker (180 rpm). In order to screen microorganisms, 10 ml of microorganisms in nutrient broth flask were purified by repeatedly transferring the
cells into 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask containing 100 ml of thiosulfate broth (TSB)
and incubated at 30 8C, 180 rpm. After 3 days, microorganism isolation was
done by a spread plate technique on thiosulfate agar plates. The plates were
incubated at 30 8C for 3 days. After that the morphology and number of colonies
were observed under a light microscope. Colonies of different morphology were
isolated by picking a single colony of each type and inoculated on thiosulfate
agar by a streak plate technique. The isolated microorganisms were cultivated
separately in thiosulfate broth as a pure culture and then transferred 10% (v/v) at
every 7 days. The growth of isolated microorganisms was studied by a plate
count technique. Since pH is an essential parameter influencing hydrogen
sulfide removal, the media solution was then buffered to avoid pH changes.
During the growth study, pH, sulfate (SO42 ) content and maximum growth rate
(at logarithmic phase) were determined by pH meter, turbidimetric method
according to Standard Methods [14].
709
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the fixed-film bioscrubber in this experiment: 1,
H2S gas; 2, N2 gas; 3, flow meter; 4, regulator; 5, 3-way connector; 6,
bioscrubber column; 7, peristaltic pump; 8, recirculation tank.
The weight of organism grown was the weight difference before and after
the experiment.
2.3. Reactor set-up
The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. The bioscrubber column was
made of glass of 0.03 m in diameter and 0.5 m of height. The column was
packed with packing media to get the working height of 0.15 or 0.30 m. Fine
control of gas flow rates was achieved by use of needle valves and a flow
controller (Cole-Parmer, A03219-17, USA). Hydrogen sulfide was diluted by
nitrogen gas to obtain the desirable concentrations and introduced upward into a
packed bed. The H2S gas cylinder of 200 ppmv (parts per million by volume)
balanced with nitrogen was manufactured by Air Liquide, USA. N2 gas cylinder
of 99.9% purity was produced by Air Liquide, Thailand. The energy source for
microorganism growth was derived from the hydrogen sulfide oxidation in
fixed-film bioscrubber column. Therefore, Na2S2O35H2O was taken out from
nutrient solution in the recirculation tank. This nutrient solution was refilled
everyday at a volume of 300 ml which is equivalent to the sampling volume.
This liquid medium was pumped downward and recirculated during the
continuous experiment. All experiments were operated in continuous mode
at room temperature.
2.4. Abiotic experiment
The abiotic experiment was set-up for 360 min. The column was packed at
0.15 m without cell immobilization. The inlet H2S set at 10 ppmv was pumped
upward to the bioscrubber column containing the abiotic packing media at the
flow rate of 500 ml min 1 while liquid medium (TSB without Na2S2O35H2O)
flowed downward from a recirculation tank at the flow rate of 13 ml min 1. The
empty bed retention time (EBRT) was 12.71 s.
2.5. Short-term fixed-film bioscrubber experiments
2.2. Immobilization of bacterial cell on the packing media
The packing media were polypropylene pall (PP) rings. The empty media
were weighed before starting the experiments. The diameter and surface loading
rate of the packing media were 0.025 m and 206.81 m2 m 3, respectively. The
immobilization process was initiated by transferring the packing media into
thiosulfate broth containing selected microorganisms grown at logarithmic
phase. The packing media were weighed after the experiment was done.
Short-term experiments were set as preliminary tests for studying the
appropriate H2S inlet concentration, liquid flow rate, and the empty bed
retention time. The optimum conditions from this experiment were used for
setting the long-term fixed-film bioscrubber experiments. The height of packing
media was fixed at 0.15 m for all of the short-term experiments. The short-term
experiments of the fixed-film bioscrubber used in this stage are shown in
Table 1. All experiments were operated only for 360 min.
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S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
Table 1
Short-term experiments of the fixed-film bioscrubber
Short-term experiments
Inlet gas concentration
(ppmv)
Gas flow rate
(ml min 1)
Liquid flow rate
(ml min 1)
Empty bed retention
time (EBRT, s)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
10
20
20
40
40
80
80
100
100
500
500
500
500
500
500
375
375
200
200
13
35
13
35
13
35
13
35
13
35
12.71
12.71
12.71
12.71
12.71
12.71
16.94
16.94
31.77
31.77
Table 2
Long-term experiments of the fixed-film bioscrubber
Long-term
experiments
Inlet gas
concentration (ppmv)
Gas flow rate
(ml min 1)
Liquid flow
rate (ml min 1)
Height of
packing (m)
Empty bed retention
time (s)
1
2
3
20
20
20
500
250
500
13
13
13
0.30
0.30
0.15
25.43
50.87
12.71
2.6. Long-term fixed-film bioscrubber experiments
The optimum conditions obtained from the short-term experiments were
used for the comparison of each isolated microorganism, and for studying the
effect of gas flow rate, empty bed retention time, and height of packing. To
further optimize the system, the long-term experiments of the fixed-film
bioscrubber were operated for 72 h and set as shown in Table 2. The inlet
gas was pumped upward to the bioscrubber column with and without immobilized cell on the packing media at the flow rates of 250 and 500 ml min 1
while liquid containing nutrient flowed downward from a recirculation tank at
flow rates of 13 ml min 1. The EBRT was varied in the range of 1250 s. The
height of packing media was varied from 0.15 to 0.30 m in these experiments.
2.7. Analytical methods
Alcaligenes faecalis MU2_03. Each microbial strain was
identified based on gram stain and biochemical properties using
the API testing system and on the basis of their morphology
described in Bergeys manual [15].
Acinetobacter sp. and A. faecalis have never been reported
as microorganisms capable for the removal of hydrogen sulfide.
3.2. Growth of microorganisms
After the microorganisms were isolated, their growth was
studied (Fig. 3). The highest growth rates of Acinetobacter sp.
MU1_03 and A. faecalis MU2_03 and mixed culture were
The inlet and outlet H2S gas from the bioscrubber system was measured by
using an H2S gas detector (OLDHAM, MX21 PLUS, France). Sulfate (SO42 )
content in the recirculation tank was determined by turbidimetric method
according to Standard Method [14]. The principle of this method is the
precipitation of sulfate in an acetic acid medium with barium chloride (BaCl2)
so as to form barium sulfate (BaSO4) crystals of uniform size. The light
absorbance of the BaSO4 suspension was measured by a spectrophotometer
(Bio Aquarius, CE7200, UK) at 420 nm wavelength using deionized water as a
standard. The sulfate concentration was determined by comparing to a standard
curve (Fig. 2). pH was also measured by a pH meter (HANNA, HI98128, Italy)
and the dissolved oxygen content was measured by an oxygen meter (YSI, 51B,
USA). The dissolved oxygen content was determined only in the long-term
fixed-film bioscrubber experiments.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microbial isolation and identification
Two different dominant types of microorganisms were
isolated from an aeration tank at Si-Phraya municipal wastewater treatment plant: Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 and
Fig. 2. Standard curve of sulfate concentration.
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
Fig. 3. Growth curves and pH values of thiosulfate media containing bacteria
types MU1_03, MU2_03 and mixed culture during 7-day incubation period.
obtained on day 4 of the incubation time. The colony forming
units per ml (cfu ml 1) during this time were approximately
108 cells for Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 and 107 cells for both
A. faecalis MU2_03 and the mixed culture.
pH remained within 0.1 throughout the experiment and
can be considered a negligible change. This drop in pH might
have been caused by microorganisms that oxidized thiosulfate
to sulfuric acid for their growth and respiration during that time.
The growth of three bacterial types at logarithmic phase (day
4) based on a biomass concentration is shown in Table 3. The
mixed culture was the mixture of MU1_03 and MU2_03 so the
weight of mixed strains was more than MU1_03 or MU2_03
alone.
3.3. Abiotic experiment
In the abiotic experiment, the hydrogen sulfide removal
efficiency was only 10% after 300 min of operation. The sulfate
concentrations were in the range of 2.52.8 mg l 1 and pH did
not fall below 6.7 throughout the experiment.
3.4. Short-term fixed-film bioscrubber experiments
The H2S removal efficiencies of each microorganism in
short-term experiments are shown in Table 4. The efficiencies
of Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03, A. faecalis MU2_03 and mixed
microorganisms in short-term experiments 14 were 70%
Table 3
The weight of each type of microorganisms at the logarithmic phase
Microorganisms
Weight per 100 ml
(mean S.D.) (g)
Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03
Alcaligenes faecalis MU2_03
Mixed culture
0.077 0.001
0.095 0.0013
0.161 0.0012
711
within 1 h of the operation time while pH decreased, due to the
oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfate by microorganisms, as
reflected by the increase in sulfate values. The without cell
experiment reached only 15% H2S removal efficiency in all
short-term experiments. The removal efficiency in experiments 5
and 6 decreased because of the increase of inlet gas concentration
from 20 to 40 ppmv. This is consistent with the experiments
performed earlier by Oyarzun et al. [16]. Therefore, the
appropriate inlet gas concentration of 20 ppmv was chosen for
setting the long-term experiments. The efficiency decreased
when the inlet gas concentration increased.
In experiment 6, the H2S removal efficiency of Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 increased to 78% after 300 min of the
operation time. This may be due to the increasing of liquid flow
rate from 13 to 35 ml min 1 (Table 1). Increase liquid flow rate
will help increase the mass transfer rate between gas and liquid
[17] and hence, increase the H2S removal efficiency.
When the EBRT was increased from 12.71 to 16.94 s
(experiments 6 and 7), the strains MU1_03 and MU2_03 achieved more than 73% removal efficiency while the mixed culture
exhibited more than 80% removal efficiency (Table 4). In addition, if the EBRT was increased to 31.77 s in experiments 9 and
10, the removal efficiency of MU1_03 and MU2_03 increased to
over 90% within only 60 min, and to 98% in the mixed culture.
The pH values in the recirculation flask slightly decreased in all
experiments from 6.9 to 6.5 but did not fall lower than 6.5.
Sulfates are a by-product of hydrogen sulfide removal and
should be taken into account when considering removal
efficiency. The sulfate values increased when removal efficiencies increased [11,16]. In this experiment, sulfate production
increased when H2S removal increased. The sulfate concentrations of MU1_03 in experiments 110 were in the range 2.8
7.7 mg l 1 at the beginning of the experiments. After 60 min, the
sulfate increased to of 3.013 mg l 1 and further to 4.5
15 mg l 1 at the end of the experiment (360 min). In addition, the
sulfate concentrations given by MU2_03 in all experiments at 0,
60 and 360 min were 5.29.0, 5.29.9 and 5.48.9 mg l 1,
respectively. At the same time, the sulfate concentrations of
mixed culture were 5.521.0, 5.221.0 and 5.922.0 mg l 1,
respectively. The temperatures of all experiments were in the
range of 28.333.0 8C and did not affect removal efficiency.
Fig. 4 shows the relationship between H2S loading rate and
the elimination capacity of each microorganism. The MU1_03,
MU2_03 and mixed culture exhibited the elimination capacities
between 2.70 and 5.44 g m 3 h 1 at H2S loading rates of 3.89
7.78 g m 3 h 1 in the short-term experiments 14. Although
the H2S loading rate increased to 23.33 g m 3 h 1 in
experiments 7 and 8, the elimination capacities still increase
and the mixture of the two strains reached the highest
elimination capacity of 19.24 g m 3 h 1.
3.5. Long-term fixed-film bioscrubber experiments
3.5.1. Effect of gas flow rate on fixed-film bioscrubber
operation
Before starting the long-term fixed-film bioscrubber operation, the appropriate H2S inlet concentration and liquid flow
0
98
98
98
98
98
98
0
92
91
90
91
91
91
0
88
89
89
89
89
89
0
90
90
90
90
90
90
0
90
90
90
90
90
91
0
92
92
92
92
92
91
0
81
80
80
81
81
83
0
78
29
80
29
29
19
0
80
80
77
78
29
19
0
73
78
78
78
29
19
STE_#* stands for short-term experiments 110, MU1 stands for Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03, and MU2 stands for A. faecalis MU2_03.
0
73
73
73
73
73
73
0
73
73
73
73
73
73
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
73
75
75
75
78
78
0
78
65
65
68
65
68
0
65
65
65
65
65
65
0
65
65
65
65
65
65
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
65
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
65
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
80
80
80
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
70
70
70
70
70
70
0
60
120
180
240
300
360
STE_9*
STE_8*
STE_7*
STE_6*
STE_5*
STE_4*
STE_3*
STE_2*
STE_1*
Time (min) Removal efficiency (%)
Table 4
H2S removal efficiencies of each microorganism in short-term experiments
MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix MU1 MU2 Mix
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
STE_10*
712
Fig. 4. The relationship between H2S loading rate and H2S elimination capacity
of each microorganism in short-term experiments 110.
rate should be considered because they significantly affect the
H2S removal efficiency in long-term bioscrubber systems.
Therefore, the optimal operating conditions used for the longterm experiments were set as shown in Table 2. The inlet gas
concentration and liquid flow rate for all experiments were
maintained at 20 ppmv and 13 ml min 1, respectively. When
the gas flow rate was decreased, the hydrogen sulfide removal
efficiency increased as shown in long-term experiments 1 and 2
(Figs. 5 and 6). When the gas flow rate was reduced from 500 to
Fig. 5. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and sulfate production
of the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term experiment 1.
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
713
Fig. 6. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and sulfate production
of the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term experiment 2.
Fig. 7. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and sulfate production of
the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term experiment 3.
250 ml min 1, hydrogen sulfide removal efficiency increased
to more than 85%. The result was similar to that of Nishimura
and Yoda [11]. Furthermore, A. faecalis MU2_03 exhibited
90% removal efficiency in only 2 h whereas with Acinetobacter
sp. MU1_03 and the mixed culture removal efficiency remained
above 85% throughout the 72 h operation time. In addition, the
without cell fixed-film bioscrubber reached the lowest
efficiency (5%) in experiment 1, but reached 10% after 2
24 h of operation in experiment 2. Ockeloen et al. [7] suggested
that the removal efficiency is more sensitive to the gas velocity
than the liquid velocity because less substrate enters the
bioscrubber.
addition, the without cell fixed-film bioscrubber reached only
5% of the efficiency in experiment 3. Therefore, it was
suggested that the removal efficiency was able to increase when
the EBRT was increased. This finding was also similar to Koe
and Yang [12]. Removal efficiency exceeded 99% when the
EBRT was more than 60 s [18,19]. In addition, when the EBRT
was decreased to 19 s the removal efficiency decreased to 87%
[18,19].
3.5.2. Effect of empty bed retention time on fixed-film
bioscrubber operation
The short-term results indicate that EBRT is an important
parameter. The suitable ranges of EBRT were higher than 16 s
even if the inlet gas concentration was increased to 100 ppmv.
In the long-term experiment, the results show that Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 had the highest removal efficiency (about
85% in only 2 h of the operation time; Fig. 5). In addition, A.
faecalis MU2_03 and mixed culture achieved 80 and 70%
removal efficiencies in 2 h, respectively. When EBRT was
increased to 50.87 s (long-term experiment 2), the removal
efficiency of A. faecalis MU2_03 reached 90% in only 2 h of
the operation time whereas Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 and
mixed culture had similar removal efficiency but they took
longer time to attain this (Fig. 6). However, the removal
efficiency of Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 dropped by 5% after
24 h of operation. In long-term experiment 3, the EBRT was
reduced to 12.71 s so the removal efficiency of all microorganisms decreased to 75% after 72 h of the operation. The
mixed culture achieved more than 80% removal efficiency at
24 h but the efficiency dropped to 75% subsequently (Fig. 7). In
3.5.3. Effect of packing media on fixed-film bioscrubber
operation
The fixed-film bioscrubber was operated with two different
heights of packing as shown in Table 2. The inlet gas
concentration was fixed at 20 ppmv while the heights of
packing varied between 0.30 and 0.15 m. When the height was
0.30 m (long-term experiment 1), Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03
and A. faecalis MU2_03 exhibited higher removal efficiencies
than the mixed culture (Fig. 5). Some researchers have found
that removal efficiencies increased when the heights of packing
were increased [7,20]. When the heights were reduced to one
half in experiment 3, the removal efficiency declined (Fig. 7).
Therefore, the co-culture had an advantage in the hydrogen
sulfide removal with short duration EBRT.
3.5.4. The relationship of the removal efficiency, sulfate,
pH and dissolved oxygen in the fixed-film bioscrubber
Sulfate and pH values in the recirculation tank were studied
in all experiments. Sulfates increased greatly whereas pH
decreased slightly as hydrogen sulfide was oxidized to sulfate
(Figs. 57). Oxidation reactions in the bioscrubber produces
sulfate and then sulfuric acid, the most common end-product
which causes an acid pH [18,21]. However, Smet and Van [22]
found that 95% of the sulfates were leached as sulfates (SO42 )
salts and not as H2SO4 (sulfuric acid).
714
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
Fig. 8. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and dissolved oxygen of
the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term experiment
1.
Fig. 9. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and dissolved oxygen
of the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term
experiment 2.
Complete hydrogen sulfide removal can occur only when the
oxygen is sufficient for the oxidation reaction. Bacterial activity
in the recirculation tank reduced the dissolved oxygen to as
little as 0.5 mg l 1 (Figs. 810). The DO was as high as 6.6
7.2 mg l 1 when the bioscrubber operated without immobilized
cells. Oxygen is the key parameter that controls the level of
oxidation [23]. Insufficient oxygen may cause a shift in the
proportion of the end-products and prevent complete removal
of H2S. Generally, sulfate is the most common end-product of
H2S oxidation when the oxygen is sufficient. As dissolved
oxygen is consumed by the oxidation reaction and decreases
markedly, elemental sulfur may become the end-product [24].
3.5.5. The weight of biofilm on packing materials in longterm fixed-film bioscrubber
The packing materials were weighed before and after the
long-term experiments 13. Table 5 shows the weight of each
bacterial biofilm on packing materials in the long-term
experiments 13. In the long-term experiment 1, the weight
of A. faecalis biofilm was the highest (0.0026 g) and the H2S
removal efficiency was 80%. In addition, the weight of
MU1_03 biofilm was lower whereas the removal efficiency
increased to 85%. In the long-term experiment 2, the weight of
MU2_03 biofilm was the highest (0.0046 g) and the greatest
Fig. 10. The relationship of the removal efficiency (RE) and dissolved oxygen
of the two strains, mixed culture and without cell culture in long-term experiment 3.
Table 5
The weight of biofilm on packing materials of each microorganism in the long-term experiments 13
Microorganisms
Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03
A. faecalis MU2_03
Mixed culture
Weight of biofilm on packing in long-term experiment (mean S.D.) (g)
1
0.0022 0.0003
0.0026 0.000232
0.0017 0.000348
0.0032 0.000489
0.0046 0.00008
0.0027 0.00068
0.0031 0.000319
0.0018 0.0001976
0.0016 0.0005346
S. Potivichayanon et al. / Process Biochemistry 41 (2006) 708715
H2S removal efficiency obtained (90%). On the other hand, the
mixture of MU1_03 and MU2_03 revealed the lowest weight
but it exhibited the highest removal efficiency (80%; long-term
experiment 3).
4. Conclusions
The use of fixed-film bioscrubbers for hydrogen sulfide
removal has received much attention from environmental
scientists and engineers. In this experiment, the dominant
strains of microorganisms found in the bioscrubber systems
were Acinetobacter sp. MU1_03 and A. faecalis MU2_03. The
system exhibited more than 91% of hydrogen sulfide removal
efficiency. The mixture of two strains increased the removal
efficiency to 98% when the EBRT and the liquid flow rate were
set at 31.77 s and 13 ml min 1, respectively; although the inlet
gas concentration was increased to 100 ppmv. Increased
removal efficiencies yielded higher sulfate values and a decrease
in dissolved oxygen because of the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide
to sulfate. As a consequence, the pH of liquid media dropped but
remained at or above 6.4 due to the appropriate buffering system
of the liquid media used in the recirculation tank.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the Post-Graduate Education,
Training and Research Program in Environmental Science,
Technology and Management under the Higher Education
Development Project of the Commission on Higher Education,
Ministry of Education, Thailand. The authors would like to
thank Mr. Phil Round for reading this article.
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