The performance of a two-layer biotrickling filter filled with new mixed packing materials for the removal of H2S from air.

In the work described here, a two-layer biotrickling filter filled with new packing materials was used to remove H2S from air. The upper layer of the filter was packed with activated carbon-loaded polyurethane, whereas the lower layer was filled with modified organism-suspended fillers. The effects of inlet load, empty bed residence time (EBRT) from 79 s to 53 s, pH and contaminant starvation time were investigated. For loads of 15-50 g/(m(3) h), the average removal efficiency (RE) was higher than 96% under a consistent supply of pollutants. The critical elimination capacity was 39.95 g/(m(3) h) for an EBRT of 53 s with an RE of 99.9%. The two-layer BTF was capable of withstanding contaminant starvation periods for 1.5 d and 7 d with only a few hours of recovery time. The biodegradation kinetics was studied using Michaelis-Menten type equations under different EBRTs. At an EBRT of 66 s, the optimal kinetic constants rmax and Km were 333.3 g/(m(3) h) and 0.93 g/m(3), respectively. During the operation, the two-layer BTF performed well under various reasonable conditions.