Odor Control Design Guidelines

Wastewater treatment plant had never been designed without an odor unit. The problem is how to design an
odor unit generally for each specification and condition of environment needed .
But before designing an odor unit , we shall study whether this sump needs an H2S removal or not .
The following steps are to decide whether its necessary to treat the emission of H2S or NOT.

I. H2S CONCENTRATION
Overview
The steps presented herein provide a screening approach to estimate the potential for outgassing,
off-site odor impacts, and vapor-phase control. Step-by-step instructions are
provided followed by an example illustrating the process. A form is provided to guide
calculations.
Data Needs
Table 1 lists the data that will be needed for the calculations.
TABLE 1
Data needs
Data Needs Symbol value Units
Average wastewater flow rate
Q MGD
Wastewater pH
pH Incoming sulfide concentration
Sout mg/L
Wastewater temperature
T C
Upstream pipe diameter
Dup in
Upstream pipe slope
SLup ft/ft
Downstream pipe diameter
Ddown in
Downstream pipe slope
SLdown ft/ft
Out-gassing structure volume
V ft3
Sensitive receptor distance from odor source
F ft
Estimate H2Sg Concentration
Step 1: Henrys law constant
Calculate Henrys law constant based on temperature as shown in Equation 1.
H = 0.0084T + 0.2043 (1)
H = Henrys Law constant for H2S, (unitless)
T = Wastewater temperature (C)

Step 2: Liquid H2S concentration

Use Figure 1 to estimate the FractionH2Sliq based on pH.

FIGURE 1
Fraction, based on pH, of incoming sulfide that is in the form of H2Sliq
Calculate the equilibrium liquid H2S concentration based on FractionH2Sliq and the incoming
sulfide concentration, Sout (mg/L), as shown in Equation 2.
H2Sliq = Sout FractionH2Sliq
(2)
FractionH2Sliq = portion of dissolved sulfide in the form of H2S at equilibrium (mg/L)
Sout = incoming sulfide concentration (mg/L)
H2Sliq = incoming liquid H2S concentration (mg/L)
Step 3: H2S gas concentration
Calculate equilibrium hydrogen sulfide gas concentration based on Henrys Law as shown
in Equation 3.
H2S gas = H * H2S liq
. (3)
H2Sgas = equilibrium hydrogen sulfide gas concentration (mg/L)
H = Henrys Law constant for hydrogen sulfide (unitless)

Step 4: H2S gas in ppmv

Convert H2Sgas from units of mg/L to ppmv as shown in Equation 4. H2Sgas is the
concentration that would be at equilibrium with the in-coming liquid sulfide concentration
and should be considered a conservative (high) estimate for the incoming hydrogen sulfide
gas concentration.
H2S g = H2S gas * (T+273 )* 2.41
. (4)
H2Sg = the equilibrium hydrogen sulfide concentration (ppmv)
Calculate Upstream and Downstream Natural Ventilation
Ventilation in the upstream and downstream pipe due to liquid drag (natural ventilation)
can be estimated based on hydraulic conditions in the pipes.
Step 5: Upstream natural ventilation
Use Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 for 36, 24, 12, and 8-inch diameter pipes, respectively, to estimate
the natural ventilation, Qairup (cfm) in the pipe discharging into the structure where outgassing
is expected. If the upstream pipe slope and diameter is not represented by one of
the curves, interpolate between the two nearest curves.
FIGURE 2:
Air flow as a function of water flow in a 36 inch pipe

FIGURE 3:
Air flow as a function of water flow in a 24 inch pipe

FIGURE 4:
Air flow as a function of water flow in a 12 inch pipe

Figure 5:
Air flow as a function of water flow in an 8 inch pipe

Step 6: Downstream natural ventilation

Use the approach in step five to estimate the downstream natural ventilation, Qairdown (cfm).
For a siphon or other complete bottleneck, downstream natural ventilation will have no
bearing on out-gassing and is zero for this purpose.
Step 7: Out-gas flow rate
Calculate the out-gassing flow rate, Qoutgas (cfm), as shown Equation 5.
Q outgas = Q airup Q airdown
.. (5)
Qoutgas = The flow rate of air exiting a sewer structure due to pressurization (cfm)
Qairup = Natural ventilation in the upstream pipe (cfm)
Qairdown = Natural ventilation in the downstream pipe (cfm)

Step 8: Hydrogen sulfide emission

Calculate the hydrogen sulfide emission rate as shown in Equation 6.

EH2S = Hydrogen sulfide emission from the bottleneck (g/s)

Estimate the Down-wind Odor Impact
EPA dispersion model Screen 3 was used to estimate down-wind hydrogen sulfide
concentration per unit emission.
Step 9: Down-wind concentration per unit emission
Use Figure 6 to determine the worst-case H2Sunit ((ppmv)/(g/s)) based on the distance from
the out-gassing location to the nearest sensitive receptor, F (ft).
FIGURE 6
Worst-case hydrogen sulfide concentration per unit emission as a function of distance from the odor
source.

Step 10: Down-wind worst-case concentration

Calculate down-wind worst-case H2S concentration as shown in Equation 7.

H2Sreceptor = the worst-case projected hydrogen sulfide concentration at the receptor of

concern due to the emission from the odor source, (ppmv)
b
Step 11: Offsite impact criteria
Compare H2Sreceptor to the maximum acceptable off-site hydrogen sulfide concentration. If it
is less, no treatment is needed. If it is more, go to step 12.
Given that the threshold value of detection of H2S is = 0.00047 ppmv

II. Air FLOW RATE

Determine the forced air flow rate needed for gas-phase treatment
Step 12: Air change criteria
Calculate the volumetric air flow rate, Qaer (cfm), needed to provide 12 air changes per hour
in the wet well or odor source structure as shown in Equation 8.

Qaer = Structure ventilation rate needed to provide 12 air changes per hour (cfm)
V = Volume of the wet well of odor source structure (ft3)
Step 13: Forced air-flow rate selection
The wet well or odor source structure ventilation rate needed for gas-phase treatment is the
greater of Qaer and 2 x Qoutgas.
Air Flow > Qar > 2* Qoutgas
.. a

III. Mass of activated carbon .

In order to determine the mass of the carbon bed , the designer must know the loading capacity of the
contaminant either by the manufacturer or by contaminant isotherm relation ( at equilibrium )
Fruendlich isotherm relation :

= 1/

The values of K and 1/n were obtained for one carbon type at 298 K.
X : amount of impurity adsorbed at equilibrium .
M : weight of carbon used
C : concentration of impurity remaining in Liquid .
Now the designer has the loading capacity : x/m
The designer asks the costumer if he needs a specific time to replace the carbon filter . OR the designer
uses a specific mass of carbon and makes a study of the bed life .
A. First Option : The designer specifies the time of bed life : ( BLT ) (bed life time ) ( until first
regeneration )
Determine the mass of the H2S to be adsorbed per unit time.
Mass of H2S to be adsorbed/hr = air flow (m3/hr ) * H2S(kg/m3) of air
Mass of carbon used / hr = Mass of H2S adsorbed /hr devided by (x/m given by the manufacturer )
When the designer gives limits bed life... We see number of operational hours during the required
duration.
1 hour ---- > mass of carbon used
Duration of bed life ------> total mass of carbon during duration .
B. Second Option : We assume we have a specific mass of carbon
Then we calculate the Bed Life time before regeneration .
We must have 5 parameters to determine the life of the bed .
1- Air Flow
2- H2S ppmv or mg/l
3- Loading capacity of H2S
4- Regeneration efficiency
5- Mass of carbon .
First Step : Determine the mass of H2S to be adsotbed / hr
Mass of H2S adsorbed /hr = air flow (m3/hr ) * H2S(kg/m3) of air
Second Step : Until First regeneration :
Bed Life time = mass of carbon used * loading capacity of H2S ( Kg/Kg of carbon )
Mass of H2S adsorbed / hr

IV. Determine the size of the carbon adsorption vessels

a) Estimate the diameter of carbon vessel :
Superficial velocity ( v) is the velocity that the air would attain through the carbon bed if the vessel
was empty .
V= Q/A
V: Superficial velocity of the vapor through the carbon bed that if the vessel is empty. ( given by
the manufacturer between 5-3- cm/s)
Q : is the air flow rate . (Calculated from above)
A : cross sectional area of the vessel .
4 0.5

=
3.14
D: diameter of carbon vessel.
b) Estimate the depth of the carbon in the vessel.
Mass of carbon sed = Volume of carbon vessel * Apparent density of activated carbon (1)
Volume of carbon (cylindrical) = D2 H / 4 .(2)
From equation (1) and (2) the depth of carbon ( H ) is determined .
Now the vessel can be designed
Take into consideration that te minimum depth of bed is 2 feet .

c) Given that EBCT = Volume of carbon bed / flow rate of air

Volume of carbon bed = EBCT * Flow rate of air.
Note that the EBCT is given by the manufacturer.

V. Calculate the total Pressure Drops through the units in the Process.