Feasibility of S-rich streams valorization through a two-step biosulfur production process

A bioscrubbing process named SONOVA has been developed, tested and assessed herein to valorize flue gases containing SOx. The process consists in a first scrubbing stage, to absorb and oxidize SO2 to sulfate, followed by a two-step biological stage. It consists of (1) an up-flow anaerobic sludge (UA...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mora Garrido, Mabel, Fernández Palacios, Eva, Guimerà Villalba, Xavier|||0000-0002-4156-2988, Lafuente Sancho, Javier, Gamisans Noguera, Javier|||0000-0003-1856-8692, Gabriel Buguña, David
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/188436
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/188436
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126734
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sulfur oxides
Scrubber (Chemical technology)
Flue gases
Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors
Gases -- Absorption and adsorption
Biosulfur
Bioscrubber
SOx emissions
Integral process
UASB
Up-flow anaerobic sludge
Flue gas 30 valorization
Gasos de combustió
Gasos -- Absorció i adsorció
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria química::Biotecnologia
Descripción
Sumario:A bioscrubbing process named SONOVA has been developed, tested and assessed herein to valorize flue gases containing SOx. The process consists in a first scrubbing stage, to absorb and oxidize SO2 to sulfate, followed by a two-step biological stage. It consists of (1) an up-flow anaerobic sludge (UASB) reactor to reduce sulfate to sulfide with crude glycerol and (2) a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) to partially oxidize sulfide to elemental sulfur (S0). SONOVA integrates the reutilization of resources, using the effluent of the biological stage as a sorbent agent and the residual heat of flue gases to dry the product. S0 is then obtained as a value-added product, which nowadays is produced from fossil fuels. In this research, SO2 concentrations up to 4000 ppmv were absorbed in 2 s of gas contact time in the spray-scrubber with removal efficiencies above 80 %. The UASB reduced up to 9.3 kg S-Sulfate m-3 d-1 with sulfide productivities of 6 kg S m-3 d-1 at an hydraulic retention time (HRT) as low as 2h. Finally, CSTR was fed with the UASB effluent and operated at HRT ranging from 12h to 4h without biomass wash-out. Sulfide was fully oxidized to S0 with a productivity of 2.3 kg S m-3 d-1 at the lowest HRT tested. Overall, this research has explored not only maximum capabilities of each SONOVA stage but has also assessed the interactions between the different units, which opens up the possibility of recovering S0 from harmful SOx emissions, optimizing resources utilization and costs.