Eas PANG ScienceDirect’ Water Research Volurne 240, 15 July 2023, 120046 Hydrogen sulfide control in sewer systems: A critical review of recent progress Liang Zhang ®, Yan-¥ing Qiu, Keshab R. Sharma, Tao Shi®, Yarong Song, Jicnliang Sun, Zhensheng Liang ® Zhiguo Yuan? 2 ea, fengieng” 9, es Show more «Share 98 Cite https/doi.org/10.1016/jswatres.2022.120046 Get rights ond content 7 Abstract In sewer systems where anaerobic conditions are present, sulfate-reducing bacteria reduce sulfate to hydrogen sulfide (HS), leading to sewer corrosion and odor emission. Various sulfide/corrosion control strategies have been proposed, demonstrated, and optimized in the past decades, These included (1) chemical addition to sewage to reduce sulfide formation, to remove dissolved sulfide after its formation, or to reduce HS emission from sewage to sewer air, (2) ventilation to reduce the HS and humidity levels in sewer air, and (3) amendments of pipe materials/surfaces to retard corrosion. This work aims to comprehensively review both the commonly used sulfide control measures and the emerging technologies, and to shed light on their underlying mechanisms. The optimal use of the above-stated strategies is also analyzed and discussed in depth. The key knowledge gaps and major challenges associated with these control strategies are identified and strategies dealing with these gaps and challenges are recommended. Finally, we emphasize a holistic approach to sulfide control by managing sewer networks as an integral part, of an urban water system. Graphical abstract~ Damen weseranvtammsag [az 3! Download : Download high-res image (218KB) Download : Download full-size image Introduction Under anaerobic environments, sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) reduce sulfate to sulfide in sewers, which is present in the forms of H,S, HS” and S (collectively called dissolved sulfide or sulfide) in sewage. Sulfide could accumulate to high levels in sewers, particularly in networks with a long transport time. When transferred to sewer air, hydrogen sulfide causes sewer corrosion via oxidation to sulfuric acid at the inner surface of concrete pipes, odor nuisance and health hazards when emitted to the surrounding environments, For instance, concrete corrosion occurs at a dissolved sulfide concentration of 0.1-0.5mg S/L. Severe concrete corrosion occurs at a dissolved sulfide level of 2mg S/L or above (Hvitved-Jacobsenetal., 2002), with a corrosion rate ranging from 1.1 to 10mmiyear (Zhangetal, 2008). Sulfide-induced sewer corrosion is a common cause of sewer deterioration around the world (Pikaaretal,, 2014), and results in a huge loss in sewer assets. For instance, the annual loss of sewer assets caused by concrete corrosion in the USA was estimated to be around US$14 billion (Brongersetal., 2002). The estimated annual loss of sewer infrastructure assets due to sulfide-induced corrosion was in the order of US$ 100 million in Australia (Gutierrezetal, 2016), and €4.5 million in Belgium (Romanovaetal,, 2014). Accordingly, it is imperative to control sulfide in sewers. Various chemical and biological technologies have been developed, which can be primarily categorized into two groups based on the control mechanisms: prevention/inhibition of sulfide generation and reduction of sulfide release from sewage to sewer ait. The former is principally achieved by adding inhibitors or biocides (e.g., caustic, free nitrous acid (FNA)) to sewage to inactivate SRB (Jiangetal, 2011b; Gutierrezetal, 2014). The latter is mainly based on the addition of oxidants (e.g, oxygen and nitrate) to oxidize sulfide (USEPA, 1991; Gutierrezetal,, 2008; jiangetal., 2013b), precipitants (ie. iron salts) to convert sulfide into insoluble metal sulfides (Nielsenetal., 2005b; Gutierrezetal, 2010a; Zhangetal., 2016) or alkali (ie. sodium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH),)) to reduce the H3S fraction of dissolved sulfide and hence reduce the transfer of sulfide to sewer air (Gutierrezetal., 2009; Gutierrezetal,, 2014). Alternative strategies include sewer ventilation to reduce the HyS and humidity levels in sewer air (Jiangetal., 2015a), and amendments of concrete materials or pipe surfaces to enhance pipe resistance to corrosion (Grenggetal, 2018; Wangetal., 2020). Due to the complexity of sewer systems, different sewers may have different sulfide-producing patterns and capacities. The corrosion mitigation strategies need to be carefully selected taking into account the sewage characteristics, configuration of the sewer network, and in fact the requirements of the downstream wastewater treatment plants as well. As such, a comprehensive understanding of sulfide production and sewer corrosion control mechanisms is necessary for control strategy selection and optimization. The mostrecent critical review of sulfide mitigation in sewer systems was published in 2008 (Zhangetal., 2008), where the authors summarized and discussed the most commonly used sulfide control strategies. Since then, a considerable amount of research work has been undertaken, which not only substantially improved our understanding of the mechanisms of the conventional sulfide control measures, but also delivered new technologies based on very different mechanisms. This review is conducted to critically discuss these latest advances in knowledge and developments of new technologies. Based on the systematic review of the sulfide control measures and the underlying mechanisms, we propose guidelines for selecting and applying suitable control strategies for specific cases in practice, The key knowledge gaps and challenges are also discussed to provide perspectives for further development of sulfide and sewer corrosion control strategies. Section snippets Sulfide production in sewers Sewage generally contains 40-200mg/ of sulfate (Paingetal,, 2000), more than half of which, in many cases, is attributed to the use of aluminum sulfate as a coagulant during drinking water production (Pikaaretal, 2014), In some cases, sewage contains a high concentration of sulfate owing to seawater infiltration or seawater-toilet-flushing, and sulfate concentration could reach up to 600 - 1000mg/L (Liangetal, 2019b). In the presence of abundant organics and sulfate, sulfate... Advanced knowledge of conventional sulfide mitigation measures Mitigation of sulfide emission in sewers is often conducted via dosing chemicals. The conventional measures include air/oxygen injection, addition of nitrate salts, iron salts andjor alkali, The effectiveness, underlying mechanisms, potential issues and corresponding solutions of these control strategies are discussed in this section. It should be noted that strong oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide (H,02), chlorine, and potassium permanganate (KMn0,), were also used for sulfide control in... Emerging technologies for in-sewer sulfide control, Biocides addition, electrochemical methods and granular iron-cycling have emerged as novel methods to mitigate in-sewer sulfide production and emission in the past decade. Their feasibility, effectiveness and cost-benefit have been demonstrated. Chemical choices based on sewer condition ‘The different chemical addition strategies have distinct sulfide control mechanisms, suggesting their different application scopes in terms of effectiveness and cost-benefit. According to an industry survey about five chemicals (i.e., NaOH, Mg(OH)2, NOs”, Fe2*/Fe** and 02) used for sulfide control in sewers by the Australian water industry (Ganigueetal, 2011), and the sulfide control mechanisms of above-mentioned strategies, a recommendation of chemical choices can be provided. As summarized ... Modeling and control of chemical dosing Given the highly dynamic hydraulic flow patterns and wastewater quality along the sewer systems (Liangetal, 2019a), the constant dosing regime or flow-paced dosing, where the amount of chemical dosedis proportional to the wastewater flow rate, often results in overdose in some periods and under-dosing in other periods, thereby causing unsatisfactory performance and high operational costs (Jiangetal., 2015a). On the contrary, demand-driven chemical dosing strategies can achieve better. H)S control via ventilation and gas treatment Ventilation of sewers is effective in corrosion mitigation by controlling the gaseous HS concentration and humidity if well designed, according to early engineering experiences and recent field studies (Pomeroyand Bowlus, 1946; Lawrance, 1965; Vollertsenetal., 2008; Matosetal,, 2019; Matosetal,, 2020). It is defined as the introduction of fresh air and removal of stale gasses, including natural and forced ventilation (Pescodand Price, 1982; Madsenetal., 2006). Natural ventilation is. Concrete surface treatments Surface treatments are primarily achieved via concrete surface coating, which can form a protective layer to prevent the ingress of aggressive substances to improve the concrete durability of existing sewers (DeMuynck etal,, 2009). The coating includes cement mortar coatings, polymer coating (epoxy resins, acrylic, polyurethane, polymethacrylate), geopolymer coating (Pacheco-Torgaletal., 2012), and metal-loaded zeolites coating (e.g., Ag, Zn, Cu) (DeMuynck etal, 2009). For instance, Conclusions and future perspectives Hydrogen sulfide generated by sulfate-reducing bacteria is the culprit of sewer corrosion and odorous ‘emission from sewer systems. The underlying mechanisms towards sulfate-reducing activity and sulfide- producing patterns in sewers have been thoroughly unveiled in the past decades, demonstrating that the sulfate-reducing bacterial activities in biofilms andjor sediments are the main driving factor. Such knowledge substantially promoted the development of various chemical dosing strategies and... Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper... Acknowledgements ‘The authors acknowledge the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51978289), Guangdong Provincial International Joint Research Center on Urban Water Management and Treatment (2021A0505020010), and Guangzhou Key Research and Development Scheme (s12022803}00279). Recommended articles References (155) ‘A. Almusallam et al Effectiveness of surface coatings in improving concrete durabilityCem, Coner. Compos. (2003) ©. Auguet etal Implications of downstream nitrate dosage in anaerobic sewers to control sulfide and methane emissions Water Res. (2015) G.Bentzen et al, Controlled dosing of nitrate for prevention of H2S in a sewer network and the effects on the subsequent treatment processes Water Sci, Technol. (1995) H. Bu etal. Biotrickling filter for the removal of volatile sulfur compounds from sewers: a review ‘Chemosphere (2021) ). Cao et al, Different ferric dosing strategies could result in different control mechanisms of sulfide and methane production in sediments of gravity sewers Weter Res. (2019) W. De Muynckeet a. Effectiveness of admixtures, surface treatments and antimicrobial compounds against biogenic sulfuric acid corrosion of concrete Cem, Coner, Comps. (2008) H. Duan et al Improving wastewater management using free nitrous acid (FNA) Water Res. (2020) A Figueroa et al. A distributed heat transfer model for thermal-hydraulic analyses in sewer networks Water Res. (2021) D.Firer etal. Control of sulfide in sewer systems by dosage of iron salts: comparison between theoretical and experimental results, and practical implications Sci Total Environ. (2008) R. Ganigue et al. Chemical dosing for sulfide control in Australia: an industry survey Water Res. 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