Biogas Sweetening

How Does Biogas Sweetening Work?

The BIOREM Biogas Sweetening system represents the culmination of decades of fixed film bioreactor development for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from landfill gas and other methane gas mixtures.

Designed as a single or multipass biotrickling filter, the BIOREM Biogas Sweetening system utilizes special bacterial species tailored for the removal of H2S in oxygen deficient atmospheres.

The gas mixture is forced into intimate contact with a specially selected, high porosity media and the hydrogen sulfide is solubilized into the biofilm. Special sulfur degrading bacteria use the H2S as a food source and convert into elemental sulfur and sulfate.

These processes do require a small amount of oxygen to have optimal destruction of the H2S. BIOREM injects a small percentage of air upstream of the reactor to be mixed with the raw gas prior to entry into the system.

Why Should I use a BIOREM Biogas Sweetener?

  • 100% biological process. Harness nature’s power to reduce your costs
  • 100% safe. Safety features ensure long term trouble free operation
  • 100% less consumables. This process neither consumes caustic soda nor requires frequent media replacement.

Biogas is the product of the anaerobic digestion of organic matter and can be found in agriculture, food processing, breweries, distilleries, paper mills and municipal waste water treatment facilities. It is a valuable resource and with the proper conditioning can be an ideal option for renewable energy- either to create electricity and heat through combustion, or to be used as a source of compressed or liquefied natural gas.

Biogas typically contains approximately 50-70% methane (CH4), 30-50% carbon dioxide (CO2), and 0.1% to 3% of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) with a smaller percentage of other contaminants (like VOCs
and siloxanes).

To ensure the efficient utilization of this resource, the contaminants must be removed. Hydrogen sulfide, if combusted, will be converted to sulfur

dioxide (SO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) which will aggressively corrode any downstream equipment. This greatly reduces the lifetime of equipment and increases operational costs. Engine oil and
spark plugs will need to be changed more frequently and other maintenance requirements will also increase. In addition to the increased operational costs, any downtime associated with maintenance can result in significant lost income for your operations.

BIOREM Biogas Sweetening solutions use a unique proprietary packing design that combine large surface areas with large open areas to reduce the potential for fouling.

Solutions are available for up to 99% destruction efficiencies and can be provided in a number of configurations to meet your project specific needs on cost and footprint.

Users see operational savings in excess of 85% as compared with liquid based scavengers or iron-based redox processes.

  • Removes up to 20,000 ppm of H2S (2% H2S concentration)
  • Handles a variety of inlet concentrations
  • Self-cleaning systems eliminate downtime
  • Compact vertical tower design for small footprint
  • Easy to operate
  • Lowest life cycle cost of any conditioning technology
  • ROI compared to traditional media is less than six months
  • Meets all NFPA, NEC, NEMA codes and regulations

Innovative Solutions for Your Biogas Projects

The benefits of BIOREM Biogas Sweetening include the development of a valuable source of revenue from your gas stream (electrical, heat, gas) as well as reduced emissions and reduced operation and maintenance costs (including reducing equipment downtime). Through biogas sweetening you can also increase the longevity of downstream equipment.

BIOREM Biogas Sweetening is used all over the world in the following applications:

  • Municipal wastewater
    treatment plants
  • Agriculture
  • Industrial wastewater
  • Landfills