Basics

This page aims to cover the issue of Hydrogen Sulfide ( H2S ) in the Biogas produced by Aerobic Digestion
Some discussion on how this impacts Biogas use / Biogas Upgrading , or Occupational Safety / Confined Space Entry procedures and such will be done, but refer to those pages for more thorough discussion of that

Origin and Destinations

Total Sulfur
- Total Organic Sulfur + Total Inorganic Sulfur
Then via the Sulfur Cycle it will either end up in:
- The Biogas (As H2S )
- The Digestate (As Insoluable Precipitates)
  - Tank/Pipe Fouling due to this may be a concern as well
- Or in the Anaerobic Digestion Effluent as Soluble Compounds, Organic Sulfur, or Suspended Insoluble Compounts/H2S

Quantification of H2S in Biogas
- Or potentially inference of this via “burn rate” of Steel Wool/Iron Filings Reactants, or Removal Rate of Elemental Sulfur/Sulfuric Acid in a Biogas Upgrader
Quantification of the Anaerobic Digestion Effluent
- Via Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry ?
- May also be able to Centrifuge Solids out, then be able to distinguish between liquid effluent and effluent-suspended solids
Quantification of Digestate Composition
- Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization ?
- Alternatively Doing LC-MS of Various Solvent-Sample Solutions?
- Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy ?
The latter two seem rather intensive, so may be a matter of sending samples to an off-site lab on occasion
The former may be more easily adapted to a plant’s in-house operations

A 2012 Study Titled “ Prediction of hydrogen sulphide production during anaerobic digestion of organic substrates”
A 2020 Study Titled “ Characteristics and mechanisms of H2S production in anaerobic digestion of food waste”
- Might not be in their native language/potentially check + get a native speaker to translate?
- That and/or i need to learn Mandarin Chinese
A 2020 Open Access Paper in “Energies” Titled “ Determination of Nitrogen and Sulphur Mineralization in Batch and Semi-Continuous Anaerobic Digestion Using an Artificial Fiber Bag Technique”