Sunday, January 5, 2014

Information On Hydrogen Sulfide Reduction In Sewer Systems

By Harriett Crosby


Hydrogen gas is produced in sewer systems, swamps, in volcanic and natural gas. Its production is after organic materials are broken down in absence of oxygen. The most common characteristic of this gas is its smell. It usually smells like rotten and this can explain why sewage system usually produces a foul smell of rotten eggs. This article thus provides information on hydrogen sulfide reduction and why it is important.

When thinking of this gas in waste water, the concern is mostly its odor and corrosion effects. More often than not, people living near sewer systems usually complain of the odors coming from the system. The corrosion problem results when the gas produced in the sewer atmosphere combines with water to form hydro sulfuric acid. This acid is the one responsible for corroding the sewer infrastructure.

These negative effects of the gas to sewage system and the environment led to certain control measures to be devised. These measures were to reduce and ultimately control production of this gas. The first method of control is addition of a strong alkali such as magnesium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to the waste water. The effect of this is increase of the sewer pH and thus limited formation of the sulfide gas.

Chemical treatment is the other way of control used by specialists. The chemical compounds used mostly are chlorine compounds such as bleach, ferric chloride, sodium and calcium hypochlorite. When any of these are added to the sewer system, work by oxidizing sulfides hence the gas will not be formed at all.

But with this chemical treatment, certain requirements have to be met. First there needs to be a feed system established from which the chemicals are pumped into the waste water. This feed system might take some time and even money to be established. Another thing is that the feeding system needs to be monitored constantly to ensure it is working well. At all times, safety measures must always be considered.

When it comes to corrosion problems there are certain measures that are taken to reduce or prevent this. Increasing ventilation in the sewer infrastructure to prevent break down of organic matter conditions with no oxygen is one way. The other way is through the use of protective coatings on tanks and sewer pipes on their inner part. These coatings are usually composed of tar products, polythene linings, vinyl, cement, plastics and many other materials.

Yet another method of corrosion control is by spraying the crown and manhole. At the crown of a pipe is where rust is mostly at its worst because the acid collects on this area. The effect of this is weakening and collapse of the pipe. The agent that is sprayed on these structures is known as Sulfa Lock Gel and this one guards the surfaces from intense acid effects.

Lastly, a monitoring instrument called the liquid phase sulfide meter has been formulated to help in observing sulfides levels in industrial wastes. If the instrument shows the sulfide to be higher than the wanted amount, the waste undergoes pre treatment before its release to the waste water collection system. All in all, these strategies on hydrogen sulfide reduction have helped a lot in control of the negative effects of the gas. But specialists are still coming up with other methods to manage this issue more effectively.




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