Strong Sulfide Odour in Water

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I have a problem with very strong odour of sulfide before the RO and in the permeate water. The odour stays the same strength.

I know hydrogen sulfide passes as carbon dioxide.   

I am thinking of raising the pH to 9 and increasing the dose of antiscalant to stop dosing the acid before RO.

The water source is a well the depth of 25 m and water should be used for drinking and human consumption but due to the odour it can now be used almost only for washing clothes and irrigation.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to get rid of the sulfide odour?

I read a lot about hydrogen peroxide, aeration and chlorination but the retention time and treatment should be short. 

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23 Answers

  1. O3 dosing could help, reaction time about 1-3 seconds.

    Answered on by

  2. Sir.........our company has been selling a very simple product extremely successfully for 18 years now that was originally designed for the purpose of removing malodour - H2S.

    This product is a solution that is very easy to administer and is used in very low doses. It is 100% organic.

    Hugh.

  3. H2S can be reduced immediately, biologically, simply and at low cost using our prebiotic biostimulant.  It is a marine-algae extract with tremendous ion exchange capacity due to naturally-occurring polyuronic acid content. Immediate H2S (and ammonia) reduction in a single, green, easy application - dosage of about 100 ml/m3 - any substrate, and environment. Please contact me for additional discussion. Completely edible, food-grade, organic - suitable for any application.

    1 Comment

    1. Dear Eros,

      It seems that you are not familiar with stripping to remove ALL volatlie compounds from water.

      1. Fast : 4 MINUTES water contact time as opposed to 24 HOURS for biological treatment.

      2. Low cost + small footprint: just compare the size of 24 hour treatment with a 4 minute one for say 100 m³/h (440 gpm).

      3. Short setup time, no permits (just a notice): as proven in our recent case.

  4. dear Tamer and Bruno, Biological solutions are not slow.  you have little set up cost and can be set at almost no time.  in less than 24hours there will be no odor and it will not come back.  this includes the set up time....and the opex cost is so much lower.  

    if you use stripping, the set up time alone would take months.  not including the permitting process.  

     

  6. First of all, you need to consider the survey of the area(borehole). Depth of 25m can get polluted easily, by activities such as latrine, graveyard, chicken farm and other types of compost and manure.

    Again consider the following:

    1. The history of Borehole (How long does it used),

    2. Surrounding activities of the borehole,

    3. Volume of water abstraction v/s population, and

    4. Leaking sewer pipes and any illegal actives around the borehole.

    Treating methods

    Pressure process, is the best technology to remove the odour into the water, by using lime as buffer and Aluminium sulphate as indicator. Meaning two chemical are flocculants.  

    Thank you,

     

    Mr Mangena P

  7. Dear Tamer,

    Frankly I am surprised by the many answers suggesting the use of unsuitable chemical (ozone and other strong oxidants will damage RO membrane) or slow biological methods instead of a simple fast physical method to solve your H2S odour issue.

    Considering that H2S is very volatile (odour!) it can be stripped out in seconds easily and directly by air in a stripping column as we do to remove all volatile compounds from well water.

  9. The Archaea microbial group will eliminate the odor within an hour. Any impurities IN the water may take  up to 24 hours to biodegrade into their elemental/nutrition state. After smelling and seeing the results take a sample to your local testing agency.  You will find 1. NO pathogens found 2. O2 content drastically increased.   Never use chlorine to clean water. After it kills the bacteria it continues to kill you.  Read up on "Normal Gut Flora".

  11. Dear Tamer,

    Two forms of sulfur are commonly found in drinking water supplies: sulfate and hydrogen sulfide. Both forms are nuisances that usually do not pose a health risk at the concentrations found in domestic water supplies

    Sulfates are a combination of sulfur and oxygen and are a part of naturally occurring minerals in some soil and rock formations that contain groundwater. The mineral dissolves over time and is released into groundwater.   In addition, this problem may be related to a community hazard, such as a: landfill, leaky fuel tank, pipeline, old septic system, chemical lab, and many other community hazards.  It may be wise to run a Community Hazard Report and Identify the Historic / Active Hazards within Your Neighborhood.

    Sulfur-reducing bacteria(SRV), which use sulfur as an energy source, are the primary producers of large quantities of hydrogen sulfide. These bacteria chemically change natural sulfates in water to hydrogen sulfide. Sulfur-reducing bacteria live in oxygen-deficient environments such as deep wells, plumbing systems, water softeners and water heaters. These bacteria usually flourish on the hot water side of a water distribution system.High concentrations of dissolved hydrogen sulfide also can foul the resin bed of an ion exchange water softener. When a hydrogen sulfide odor occurs in treated water (softened or filtered) and no hydrogen sulfide is detected in the non-treated water, it usually indicates the presence of some form of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the system. Water softeners provide a convenient environment for these bacteria to grow. A "salt-loving" bacteria, that uses sulfates as an energy source, may produce a black slime inside water softeners.

    Sulfates and hydrogen sulfide are both common nuisance contaminants. Although neither is usually a significant health hazard, sulfates can have a temporary laxative effect on humans and young livestock. Sulfates also may clog plumbing and stain clothing.  Hydrogen sulfide produces an offensive "rotten egg" odor and taste in the water, especially when the water is heated. If the odor is stronger in the electric water heater, we recommend the following:

    (i)  Turn off the system and drain the tank.  Note any anomalies, such as: the color and odor of the water, coatings, precipitates, or other solid materials.

    (ii)  Allow the tank to refill, but raise the temperature setting of the tank to a level above 60 degree Cent.

    (iii)  Allow the tank to stay at this level for at least 6 to 10 hours.
    d. Turn off the system and reduce system to the normal temperature setting.
    (iv) Drain any discolored water and then allow the tank to refill.
    (v) If the odor goes away, it was most likely a bacteria growing in the tank that is causing the problem.

    (vi)  If the odor returns immediately, it is likely a chemical reaction between the water and the sacrificial anode used in the system.  It would be advisable to check the quality of the water entering the tank.

    Water Treatment Methods s to Remove Sulphur Odours

    The choice of water treatment method to remove sulphur smells depends on the cause of the problem and its severity. The treatment methods discussed here are listed alphabetically and include comments on the level of sulphur for which the method is suitable.

    Chlorine (Bleach) Injection Systems To Remove Sulphur Odors

    Higher levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the water supply in the 7-10 ppm range are often treated by using a chlorine injection system. Controlled by a pump and mixed in a mixing tank, a bleach solution (chlorine) is injected into the water supply by a control that uses a timer or a device that measures water consumption. The mixing tank is required to allow sufficient contact time between the chlorine molecules and the (H2S) (or in some cases also bacteria) in the water supply to oxidize the contaminant.

    Because this chlorine/bleach oxidation process produces a sediment (such as sulphur particles or sulphur dioxide particles), a chlorine injection system is almost always combined with a filtering system downstream from the chlorinator. The filter, often combining a sediment filter stage with an activated charcoal stage, removes both particulate sediment and also the residual "chlorine" odor from the water.

    Regards,

    Prem Baboo

     

     

     

  12. Dear Tamer

     

    Kindly advise the analysis of the well Raw water, and the source of the Sulphide. 

    What is the plant capacity and what pretreatment you currently have.

     Kindly contact me at ahmed@aimchem.net , or 0020 12 082 082 32.

     

  15. please contact pettman@soleco-technology.com

    1 Comment

    1. Dear Prosper Linus A ,

      Thank you for ​sharing your ​contact details ​with Mr. Khider. ​However, if you ​would share ​additional ​details about ​solutions  (​products and ​services) for ​the issue, ​others who have ​similar problem ​could see it ​and benefit ​from it.  ​

      Best regards, 
      Duško

  16. Hydrogen Peroxide would be your best option and the retention time is very low.

  17. Tamer. In the past, I used a Fenton Reaction to eliminate HS door problems. You can find a lot of information in Google. The summary of the process is (1) Reduce pH to 4.5, (2) Add Ferric Sulfate to meet a proportion of 1:20 in accordance to H2O2 dosage, (3) Make agitation for 45-60 minutes, and (4) rise the pH to meet the level you need in RO. This method should reduce HS level near to 0.

  18. We have many systems like that in florida...keep the water in reduced and dissolved  state, and remove with degadification from permeate. Don't oxidize before membranes as sulfur foules membranex.

    Answered on by

  19. Just remember that hydrogen sulphide is a very toxic gas.  Do you know the H2S levels in the atmosphere  in ppm.  If not it is worth buying an instrument such as an OdaLog to give you that data.  That will then allow you to determine your exposure risk.

  20. You can dose your raw water with  hydrogen peroxide before filtration, the reaction is faster { H2S + H2O2 = H2O  +  S}  and Chlorine can also be used  { H2S  +  HOCL  =  H2O + HCL + S } the hydrochloric acid formed can also serve as anti-scalant depending on the contaminant level of H2S in the raw water.

  21. You could dose some iron(II)chloride solution in order to precipitate sulphide as iron sulphide (FeS). Then you would have to separate the FeS sludge from the water by sedimentation / filtration. Alternatively you could also use some granulated iron hydroxyde filter or activated carbon which is suitable to remove H2S.

  22. H2S often occurs naturally in well water, or it can be caused by the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria in a well or water system. Since bacteria are the most common cause, treatment to control them should be tried first. Shock chlorination is the standard treatment for control of sulphate reducing and iron bacteria in a well.
    These bacteria also cause “biofouling” problems in water wells. Biofouling problems are related to the slimy bacterial deposits that build up in water wells. These slime deposits plug the intake areas of water wells, which reduces well capacity, as well as reducing water quality. Badly biofouled wells need to be professionally cleaned by a well driller. Simple shock chlorination by the well owner may not yield satisfactory results.
     

  23. You must reduce the hydrogen sulphite in your raw water. Best way would be an aeration step followed from a filtration step before your RO unit. For the filtration step you should use a Multi Media Filter with a filter material based on manganese dioxide.  The contaminated air of the aeration step you should also treated or you will get some trouble with the neighbourhood.

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