Biological Scrubbers

For the removal of odourous gases from airstreams. Designed for high treatment efficiency, maximum corrosion resistance. Biological scrubbing action minimises chemical consumption and offers low ongoing operational cost. The biological scrubbers are built to designs by Marc Deshusses, Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, USA. Marc Deshusses is a leading international researcher in biological techniques for air pollution control.

Uses

• Wastewater treatment plants for hydrogen sulphide and odour control
• Pumping stations for odour control
• Rendering plants for odour control
• Pulp & Paper plants for odour control
• VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• Food processing plants for odour control

Applicability to Hydrogen Sulphide Removal

When is a biological scrubber the appropriate technology for removong hydrogen sulphide? ARMATEC engineers have done cost benefit studies, and can apply these to your project. What we found was that for lwo concentration of hydrogen sulphide below say 10ppm, then carbon bed adsorbers are the most cost effective technology. However above 100ppm, then biological scrubbers offer the lowest running cost. There is a large grey area between 10ppm and 100ppm, and project specific analyses are needed to determine the most cost effective solution. Other factors such as available space, operator availability also need to be considered. Please contact ARMATEC for assistance.

New Zealand Case Study

A biological scrubber was installed at a fertiliser plant removing up to 300ppm of hydrogen sulphide from an air stream. The previous soil bed filter was overloaded, and required frequent maintenance. As a result there were many odour complaints from neighbours. The ARMATEC biological scrubber has solved these problems, and been in operation for a number of years now. The performance of this biological scrubber was reported in an engineering paper published at a conference in 2007 ... for more details please refer to the "Free Information" section of this website (see paper P9) by clicking here.

Biological Scrubber or Carbon Bed?

Use LCC (life cycle cost) analysis is used to determine the most cost effective choice of scrubing technology. For example, for removing hydrogen sulphide from sewer gases vented from a pump station, carbon bed adsorbers are best below 10ppm. We have prepared a LCC analysis in the following pdf file. Click on it to download. LCCs for other scenarios can be prepared to suit.

MORE INFORMATION: Three Technologies LCC Compared pdf