The Important Elements in the Formation of Odorous Substances in Black Odorous Water

Abstract

At present, black odorous water is an important issue in waste water management, as it seriously affects the quality of river and lake water. However, how black odorous water forms still remains largely unclear. Under the conditions of artificially simulating black and odorous water bodies, the formation conditions, generation mechanism and forming process of odorous substances-H2S were researched by adding different basic substances, including sulfur-containing substances, inorganic salts, and metal ions. The results showed that there must be sulfur-containing substances to induce a black bloom in 5–9 d, and that the Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) should be less than −200 mv, an optimal condition for forming black odorous water. Cysteine was the primary precursor for the production of H2S. Furthermore, when the inorganic nitrogen salt additions were >10 mg/L, the formation of H2S was inhibited. Finally, metal ions inhibit the degree of odor-causing in water was Cu2+ > Fe2+ > Mn2+. The microbial communities were also monitored during the development of the black odorous and the predominant bacteria were proteobacteria and it showed that the proteobacteria could desulfurize high-valence organic compounds containing sulfur become low-valence simple sulfides.