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Effects of Pyrolysis Temperature on Biochar Physicochemical and Microbial Properties for H 2 S Removal from Biogas

Author

Listed:
  • Rasa Vaiškūnaitė

    (Department of Environmental Protection and Water Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Aušra Mažeikienė

    (Department of Environmental Protection and Water Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Kamyab Mohammadi

    (Department of Environmental Protection and Water Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 10223 Vilnius, Lithuania)

Abstract

Sludge is produced in sewage treatment plants and is still a problematic waste type after anaerobic digestion. A sustainable sludge management strategy would be to pyrolyze it and obtain biochar suitable for use in biofilters. This article examines the physical and chemical properties of biochar obtained by pyrolyzing sewage sludge at a temperature of 300–600 °C. The pyrolyzed sludge was used in the biofilter as a filler. The results demonstrated biochar packing materials after pyrolysis at 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C, which exhibited porosities of 35%, 42%, 67%, and 75%, respectively. During the research study, it was established that the biofilter showed excellent efficiency (between 55 and 99 percent) when using carbon pyrolyzed at temperatures of 500 °C and 600 °C. In this study, the average growth rates of the number of sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms were 1.55 × 10 4 CFU/g at the first stage of the biofilter, 2.63 × 10 4 CFU/g at the second stage, 3.65 × 10 4 CFU/g at the third stage, 5.73 × 10 4 CFU/g at the fourth stage, and 2.62 × 10 4 CFU/g at the fifth stage. The number of sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms in the packing bed of biofilters during the 60-day period of the experiment constantly increased. The experimental results of H 2 S purification in biogas were compared with mathematical modeling results. These comparative results revealed a consistent trend: the model-estimated filter efficiency also reached 70–90 percent after 60 days of investigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rasa Vaiškūnaitė & Aušra Mažeikienė & Kamyab Mohammadi, 2024. "Effects of Pyrolysis Temperature on Biochar Physicochemical and Microbial Properties for H 2 S Removal from Biogas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-13, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5424-:d:1422684
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Haosagul, Saowaluck & Prommeenate, Peerada & Hobbs, Glyn & Pisutpaisal, Nipon, 2020. "Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in full-scale biogas cleanup system of ethanol industry," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 965-972.
    2. Zhang, Yuyao & Kawasaki, Yu & Oshita, Kazuyuki & Takaoka, Masaki & Minami, Daisuke & Inoue, Go & Tanaka, Toshihiro, 2021. "Economic assessment of biogas purification systems for removal of both H2S and siloxane from biogas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 119-130.
    3. Su, Jung-Jeng & Hong, Yu-Ya, 2020. "Removal of hydrogen sulfide using a photocatalytic livestock biogas desulfurizer," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 181-188.
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