Control of hydrogen sulfide in drinking water is widely practiced in groundwater systems to
prevent odor complaints and to help control sulfur induced corrosion and associated black water
problems in distribution systems. While chemical oxidation of hydrogen sulfide is well
understood, the pH, oxidant chemical, and effective dose influence the reaction products (e.g.
sulfate or elemental sulfur) and reaction rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the
feasibility of using hydrogen peroxide oxidation coupled with filtration for removal of hydrogen
sulfide. Bench-scale and pilot-scale testing were conducted on groundwater from South/Central
Hillsborough County. Chemical addition followed by filtration of oxidized elemental sulfur was
tested using a two-stage continuously backwashed upflow filter operated at a hydraulic loading
rate of about 5gpm/ft<sup>2</sup>. The use of hydrogen peroxide to oxidize hydrogen sulfide at ambient pH
(7.2-8.0) required excessive reaction times (>20 minutes). However, when iron coagulants were
used in tandem with hydrogen peroxide, dissolved hydrogen sulfide was converted to particulate
sulfur (most likely iron sulfide or colloidal sulfur) in less than 3 minutes at molar ratios ranging
from 0.5 to 2. The combination of oxidation and two-stage upflow filtration was capable of
producing water with turbidities below 0.08 NTU. Includes 15 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 280 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 11 |
| Published : | 11/02/2003 |
