Hydrogen Sulfide Formation in Anaerobic Digestion Biogas

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

• 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