A method for controlling hydrogen sulfide in water by adding solid phase oxygen

This work evaluates the addition of solid phase oxygen, a magnesium peroxide (MgO2) formulation manufactured by Regenesis (oxygen-releasing compounds, ORCTM), to inhibit the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in an SRB-enriched environment. The initial rate of release of oxygen by the ORC was determined over a short period by adding sodium sulfite (Na2SO3), which was a novel approach developed for this study. The ability of ORCs to control H2S by releasing oxygen was evaluated in a bench-scale column containing cultured sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). After a series of batch tests, 0.4% ORC was found to be able to inhibit the formation of H2S for more than 40 days. In comparison, the concentration of H2S dropped from 20 mg S/L to 0.05 mg S/L immediately after 0.1% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was added, but began to recover just four days later. Thus, H2O2 does not seem to be able to inhibit the production of sulfide for an extended period of time. By providing long-term inhibition of the SRB population, ORC provides a good alternative means of controlling the production of H2S in water.