Technical Papers
Feb 24, 2017

Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide Using Soil Amended with Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag

Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 7

Abstract

A municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is a major source of odorous gases, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S). To remove H2S, a novel technique was studied using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS). Laboratory column tests and regeneration tests were carried out to evaluate GGBS effectiveness. Loess soil was amended with 0, 10, or 30% GGBS, compacted to a bulk density (1.54  g/cm3) in a column, and then applied with a concentration of 1,000 ppm H2S from the column bottom. Test results showed that the concentration of H2S could be reduced to below the olfactory threshold (0.02 ppm). Breakthrough of H2S took three times longer when soil with 30% GGBS was used instead of unamended soil. Soil with 30% GGBS could achieve a removal capacity of 0.584  mg/g. After three cycles of regeneration enabled by air ventilation, the accumulated removal capacity was 1.44  mg/g. The fact that GGBS-amended soil can remove H2S efficiently and can be regenerated several times makes GGBS a cost-effective and environmentally friendly soil conditioner for reducing H2S concentration.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the research grant (HKUST6/CRF/12R) provided by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The third author acknowledges the EU Marie Curie Career Integration Grant under the project ‘BioEPIC slope’ and research travel support from the Northern Research Partnership (NRP).

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Go to Journal of Environmental Engineering
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143Issue 7July 2017

History

Received: Jan 9, 2016
Accepted: Nov 11, 2016
Published online: Feb 24, 2017
Published in print: Jul 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jul 24, 2017

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Authors

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Charles Wang Wai Ng, Ph.D., F.ASCE [email protected]
Chair Professor, Associate Vice-President, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]
Mengyao Xie [email protected]
Graduate Student, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Anthony Kwan Leung, Ph.D. [email protected]
Senior Lecturer, Division of Civil Engineering, Univ. of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, U.K. E-mail: [email protected]

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