Treatment of H2S and NH3 from wastewater using a pilot-scale tray biofilter

Abstract

A tray biofilter was developed and tested for treatment of high volume, low concentration H2S and NH3 from pig farm wastewater. The combination of 2 bed depth values (0.15 m. and 0.30 m.) and 3 EBRT values (0.6, 1.2, and 1.8 s) resulted in 6 systems for the experiment. The filter media used were compost : chopped coconut shell : dried cow manure : dried wastewater treatment plant sludge at 60:20:10:10 ratio. The treatment efficiency for H2S and NH3 were in the range of 78% - 89% and 57% - 80%, respectively. Overall, the systems with higher bed depth and/or higher EBRT can treat the two gases with higher efficiency. The mass loading rates, the elimination capacity, and efficiency of this study were comparable to other studies.