Sulfide Production in Waste Stabilization Ponds

This investigation deals with the production and release of hydrogen sulfide from waste stabilization ponds, and required design modifications, resulting from increased sulfate or hydrogen sulfide content. A 6-ft deep facultative pond was operated under seven different operating conditions. The experiments were designed to study the relationships between sulfide concentration in the pond and four operating characteristics, namely; detention time, concentration of sulfate ion in the influent, BOD surface load, and sulfate surface load. When detention time and BOD surface loadings were constant, a linear relationship was found to apply between sulfide concentration in the pond and sulfate concentration in the influent. Sulfide concentrations in the pond of about 7 mg per 1 were accompanied by an almost complete disappearance of algae, but the BOD removal rates on a short-term basis were not noticeably affected.