By Rico Bova

Hydrogen peroxide has proven itself, in many mission critical situations, to effectively combat and control hydrogen sulfide concerns in municipal treatment facilities. However, being in an age where technology and computing are critical to every facet of daily operations, the most efficient solutions involve teaming chemical abatement with automation technology. US Peroxide, in joint with its alliance partners, is currently implementing one such solution.

A large (300+ MGD) Midwestern United States municipal treatment plant was plagued with high levels of hydrogen sulfide, the subsequent employee safety issues which arose, and the nuisance odors produced. Chemical abatement, via metered dosing of hydrogen peroxide, eliminated the original issue, but raised new questions. Does the hydrogen sulfide generation exhibit any pattern? Are the characteristics of the influent repeatable on a specific time scale? And therefore, can one predict the resulting hydrogen sulfide levels with any certainty?

To a certain extent, yes. Liquid sulfide levels were monitored, the data were tabulated, and the dosing rate was then physically changed. Despite high overall performance, instantaneous results were nominal. Plant Operations were struggling with overdosing at certain times, and under dosing during others. Soon, guesswork gave way to technology. A system of gaseous hydrogen sulfide sensors, temperature probes, flow monitors, and valve position registers allowed engineers to see what's coming down the pipe - literally. The dosing systems can autonomously respond to either buffered, or real-time-kinetic data, and adjust their rates for maximum efficiency in that exact moment in time.

Hydrogen sulfide levels are lower than ever, and hydrogen peroxide is spent in a more controlled fashion. Data are being collected which will allow Operations to tweak the solution to achieve any requested level of hydrogen sulfide control. One less guessing game to deal with. Guess which direction the return on investment is heading….

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