Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas produced when organic matter is being broken down by bacteria in absence of oxygen. This procedure is usually referred to as anaerobic digestion and can occur in swamps and sewers. It can also occur naturally as natural gas or in volcanic gases. This gas has a characteristic smell of rotten eggs no wonder the foul smell usually produced by sewers. It is no wonder specialists are concerned with hydrogen sulfide reduction in the sewer system.
There are usually a lot of concerns among environmental specialists with the production of this gas in the sewage system. This is because it contributes greatly to the rust problems in the sewer structures and also people living near sewage systems always complain of odor problems. For people wondering how corrosion comes about, it results when the sulfide gas produced combines with water in the system resulting to formation of hydro sulfuric acid that corrodes infrastructure.
These negative effects of the gas to sewage system and the environment led to certain control measures to be devised. These measures were to reduce and ultimately control production of this gas. The first method of control is addition of a strong alkali such as magnesium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to the waste water. The effect of this is increase of the sewer pH and thus limited formation of the sulfide gas.
The other method is chemical treatment where certain chemicals are released into the sewer. More often than not, chloride compounds are the ones usually fed into the system. Examples of these compounds include; calcium and sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride or bleach. When any of these compounds are added to sewage, they lead to oxidation of sulfides hence the gas will not be formed.
There is usually problem however when using this chemical treatment; when there is no pumping section to feed the chemicals into the system, this procedure cannot work well. For this reason, specialists have to create a pumping section first before beginning the procedure. When the feed system is established, it has to be monitored constantly to ensure the treatment is effective. Other than this, safety is always considered during this procedure.
For the rust problems, several measures exist to control this. The first one involves increased ventilation in sewer system to allow aerobic digestion to occur rather than anaerobic. The other measure is use of protective coatings when manufacturing sewer pipes and tanks. These coatings can be polythene linings, cement, vinyl, tar products and the do prevent corrosion of the infrastructure.
Crown and manhole spraying is yet the other measure used in corrosion control. When the hydro sulfuric acid is forms, it collects mostly at the crown part of the pipe. The effect on this area is intense decomposition leading to weakening of the pipe and in worst cases collapse. Therefore a Sulfa Lock Gel is sprayed on these areas so as to prevent the bad effects of hydro sulfuric acid.
Lastly, a monitoring instrument called the liquid phase sulfide meter has been formulated to help in observing sulfides levels in industrial wastes. If the instrument shows the sulfide to be higher than the wanted amount, the waste undergoes pre treatment before its release to the waste water collection system. All in all, these strategies on hydrogen sulfide reduction have helped a lot in control of the negative effects of the gas. But specialists are still coming up with other methods to manage this issue more effectively.
There are usually a lot of concerns among environmental specialists with the production of this gas in the sewage system. This is because it contributes greatly to the rust problems in the sewer structures and also people living near sewage systems always complain of odor problems. For people wondering how corrosion comes about, it results when the sulfide gas produced combines with water in the system resulting to formation of hydro sulfuric acid that corrodes infrastructure.
These negative effects of the gas to sewage system and the environment led to certain control measures to be devised. These measures were to reduce and ultimately control production of this gas. The first method of control is addition of a strong alkali such as magnesium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to the waste water. The effect of this is increase of the sewer pH and thus limited formation of the sulfide gas.
The other method is chemical treatment where certain chemicals are released into the sewer. More often than not, chloride compounds are the ones usually fed into the system. Examples of these compounds include; calcium and sodium hypochlorite, ferric chloride or bleach. When any of these compounds are added to sewage, they lead to oxidation of sulfides hence the gas will not be formed.
There is usually problem however when using this chemical treatment; when there is no pumping section to feed the chemicals into the system, this procedure cannot work well. For this reason, specialists have to create a pumping section first before beginning the procedure. When the feed system is established, it has to be monitored constantly to ensure the treatment is effective. Other than this, safety is always considered during this procedure.
For the rust problems, several measures exist to control this. The first one involves increased ventilation in sewer system to allow aerobic digestion to occur rather than anaerobic. The other measure is use of protective coatings when manufacturing sewer pipes and tanks. These coatings can be polythene linings, cement, vinyl, tar products and the do prevent corrosion of the infrastructure.
Crown and manhole spraying is yet the other measure used in corrosion control. When the hydro sulfuric acid is forms, it collects mostly at the crown part of the pipe. The effect on this area is intense decomposition leading to weakening of the pipe and in worst cases collapse. Therefore a Sulfa Lock Gel is sprayed on these areas so as to prevent the bad effects of hydro sulfuric acid.
Lastly, a monitoring instrument called the liquid phase sulfide meter has been formulated to help in observing sulfides levels in industrial wastes. If the instrument shows the sulfide to be higher than the wanted amount, the waste undergoes pre treatment before its release to the waste water collection system. All in all, these strategies on hydrogen sulfide reduction have helped a lot in control of the negative effects of the gas. But specialists are still coming up with other methods to manage this issue more effectively.
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