ZHUOYang,YINCai-yue,ZHOUMeng-yu,et al.Characteristics of Nitrogen and Sulfur Conversion and Simultaneous Biological Sulfur, Ammonia and Odor Removal during Sludge Aerobic Fermentation[J].China Water & Wastewater,2025,41(5):36-43.
Characteristics of Nitrogen and Sulfur Conversion and Simultaneous Biological Sulfur, Ammonia and Odor Removal during Sludge Aerobic Fermentation
China Water & Wastewater[ISSN:1000-4062/CN:12-1073/TU]
volume:
第41卷
Number:
第5期
Page:
36-43
Column:
Date of publication:
2025-03-01
- Keywords:
- sludge; aerobic fermentation; biological deodorization; biotrickling filter; hydrogen sulfide; ammonia
- Abstract:
- A significant amount of odor is generated during the aerobic fermentation of sludge in municipal wastewater treatment plants. This odor exhibits characteristics such as low concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur compounds, unpredictability, low odor thresholds, and temporal variability. Current treatment methods face challenges including long retention time and high demand for chemical reagents. The odor issue has become a critical factor limiting the large-scale application of sludge aerobic fermentation projects. In this study, the odor generation characteristics of sludge during aerobic fermentation were systematically analyzed, and an experiment on biological deodorization including simultaneous sulfur and ammonia removal was conducted. During the process of sludge aerobic fermentation, the yields of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were 7.0 g/kg and 92.0 mg/kg (on a dry weight basis), respectively, with their respective peak production rates reaching 2 555 mg/d and 32.28 mg/d; nitrogen loss accounted for 45.3% of the total nitrogen, with the majority being present in the form of odorous emissions (30.0%) and condensate (9.2%). Compared to the traditional chemical absorption-biological deodorization process, the desulfurization efficiency was enhanced from (63.4±25.5)% to (70.9±16.9)% when the empty bed retention time was set to 6.0 seconds. This improvement was attributed to the increase in the pH of the circulating liquid from 6.04±0.39 to 8.50±0.49 as a result of ammonia dissolution, which facilitated the dissociation of sulfide and consequently increased the amount of hydrogen sulfide absorbed. Simultaneously, the biotrickling filter could achieve an ammonia removal efficiency of (66.2±21.0)%, thereby enhancing desulfurization performance while reducing the chemical consumption in the chemical absorption reactor. Consequently, the concurrent desulfurization and ammonia removal process can significantly enhance the removal efficiency of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide while reducing the construction and operational costs of sludge aerobic fermentation and deodorization system.
Last Update:
2025-03-01