Removal of H2S from Synthetic Waste Gas Streams Using a Biotrickling Filter with Polyurethane Foam as Synthetic Bed

The removal of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from airstream was studied in a biotrickling filter (BTF) packed with openpore polyurethane foam as a carrier of Thiobacillus thioparus (DSMZ5368) with countercurrent gas/liquid flows. This study is the first work using open-pore polyurethane foam as a synthetic bed to immobilize autotrophic bacteria. The effect of operating parameters on BTF performance was studied. The results showed lower performance of the BTF compared to other studies in which either polyurethane foam with other microorganisms or Thiobacillus thioparus with other packings were employed which can be attributed to unsatisfactory immobilization of Thiobacillus thioparus on polyurethane foam. The effect of liquid recirculation rate (LRR) in the range of 175-525 ml/min (0.46-1.34 m/hr) on the BTF performance was studied. Results show that increasing LRR has great positive effect on H2S removal efficiency. Finally, H2S elimination at different heights of the bed was studied and gradual change in H2S elimination showed a reasonable homogeneity of removal along the height of the BTF.

Keywords:

biotrickling filter , hydrogen sulfide , polyurethane foam , Thiobacillus thioparus