Biotechnological H2S gas treatment with Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Abstract

In this paper a novel process for biotechnological abatement of hydrogen sulphide is pre7 sented which details the fundamentals of chemical and biological phenomena involved. The process is based on the combination of two steps to form a closed cycle which has special environmental advantages. The chemical step corresponds to the abatement reaction itself with absorption of the gas in a ferric solution. The biological step is related to the regeneration of the absorbing solution by means of specific bacterial strains. Particular interest is devoted to the biological kinetics of the regeneration stage, where several inhibition phenomena appear, and are also related to parameters such as temperature and pH. Results of experimental runs of gas absorption in a laboratory scale plant are also described.