Low-cost filter media for removal of hydrogen sulphide from piggery biogas

Abstract

The presence of elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in piggery biogas is problematic due to its corrosiveness and toxicity. At small scale, the cost of using iron or carbon-based commercial filter media to remove H2S can act as a barrier to the uptake of on-farm biogas technology. To identify cost-effective, alternative options, this study tested and compared H2S removal by the commercial iron-oxide H2S scavenger (cg5) with the alternative solid media: granulated steel furnace slag (GSFS), red soil, compost, composted beef feedlot manure, granular activated carbon (GAC) and biochar. Experiments measured single-pass H2S removal from a pre-humidified standard gas (2000ppm H2S in nitrogen) onto solid media contained in a cylindrical plastic column (DN 25mm, depth 110–147mm). The commercial medium (cg5) performed considerably better than the other media, achieving sulphur removal of 143gS/kg medium at breakthrough (>10ppm outlet H2S). A red soil was the most promising alternative medium (2–12gS/kg medium at breakthrough). The crystalline structure of the iron-oxide minerals appeared to strongly influence the H2S removal capacity of the red soils, and pressure drop was generally high. Bulking with ground sugar cane mulch (SCM) was effective at reducing pressure drop. Interestingly, H2S removal with red soil improved when the soil was regenerated by exposure to air, followed by reuse in the column. Overall, red soil may be a suitable low-cost option, especially for polishing biogas after initial biological H2S removal.