Removal of dimethyl sulfide in a thermophilic membrane bioreactor

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several sources such as the paper and pulp industry and waste treatment plants emit waste gases containing volatile organic sulfur compounds at elevated temperature. Since cooling the hot gases increases the operational cost of biological reactors, application of thermophilic microorganisms could be a cost-effective solution. The objectives of this study were to investigate the possibility of removal of dimethyl sulfide from waste gases under thermophilic conditions (52• C) in a membrane bioreactor and to examine the long-term stability of the reactor at elevated temperature. The effects of operating conditions such as gas residence time, nutrient supply, temperature decrease and short-term shutdown on elimination capacity were investigated.

Comparison of the removal of ethanethiol in twin-biotrickling filters inoculated with strain RG-1 and B350 mixed microorganisms

“…Empty bed residence time is one of the most important parameters in biotrickling filtration processes [18]. The effect of EBRT on the treatment performance of the biotrickling filter inoculated with RG-1 or B350 was investigated at a fixed concentration of 1.05 mg L −1 .…”

“…Additionally, with biological treatment under optimal conditions, the biodegradable contaminants can be converted to harmless endproducts without the accumulation of intermediates or dead-end metabolites [12]. A number of VOSCs, such as methanethiol [13,14], dimethyl disulfide [15,16], diethyl disulfide [17], and dimethyl sulfide [18] have been found to be biologically degradable. However, ethanethiol cannot be effectively degraded in anaerobic conditions [19].…”

Biological technologies for the removal of sulfur containing compounds from waste streams: bioreactors and microbial characteristics

“…This bioreactor is usually used for the treatment of hydrophobic volatile sulfur compounds, e.g. dimethyl sulfide (Luvsanjamba et al 2008;Kumar et al 2010), because the liquid phase is situated at the opposite side of the biofilm and does not form a barrier for mass transfer of the poor water-soluble compounds. Kumar et al (2010) conducted dimethyl sulfide removal from waste air using a membrane biofilm reactor under continuous feeding conditions, and observed a maximum elimination capacity of 258.3 g m -3 h -1 under optimum conditions, which is higher than that reported for biofilters or biotrickling filters previously.…”

Pulp and Paper Mill Effluents Management

“…Nitrogen consumption was higher on the mesophilic digester, which achieved higher efficiency, regardless of nitrogen concentration. Luvsanjamba and Van Langenhove (2008) investigated the long-term use of thermophilic membrane bioreactor (TMB) to remove dimethyl sulfide gases released in paper and pulp effluent treatment plants.…”