The Sulfur Cycle and Its Impact on Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions: an Investigation at the City of St. Petersburg, Florida

The impact of wastewater processes and their sulfur compound concentrations on hydrogen sulfide releases was investigated. Digester gas hydrogen sulfide content is of critical concern, especially when beneficial use of the gas for power generation or sale necessitates scrubbing the gas.This investigation was performed for the City of St. Petersburg Southwest Water Reclamation Facility, (SWWRF) Florida, to assist in developing its new anaerobic digestion facility from which the digester gas will be used for City vehicle fuel.Liquid streams were analyzed for inorganic sulfur compounds and digester gas for hydrogen sulfide. A sulfur mass balance was created for the SWWRF using process stream flow rates and sulfur compound concentrations. A balance was achieved and the expected distribution of oxidized and reduced sulfur species was observed. Projections were made for digester gas hydrogen sulfide concentration.Future work will include additional sampling including the solids streams, and ultimately development of a sulfur model built upon the wastewater process model.