Use of hydrogen peroxide in scrubbing towers for odor removal in wastewater treatment plants

The aim of this work was to replace sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in chemical scrubbing towers, in order to avoid the formation of chlorinated species, harmful for human health. Some previous studies have already shown the ability of H2O2 to treat the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) pollution. However, an important decomposition of the oxidant was observed in the scrubbing solution (carbonates, transition metal and high pH are responsible for this decomposition) leading to high reactant consumption. Consequently, this study first focused on research into a compound able to reduce the hydrogen peroxide degradation. Experiments were conducted on a pilot unit (3,000 m(3) h(-1)) in a wastewater treatment plant. The sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) proved to be a good scrubbing solution stabilizer. A very good removal of hydrogen sulfide (up to 98%) was also obtained. Finally, the study resulted in the determination of the best operating conditions to achieve both an efficient and economical process.