Simulation of the Biofiltration of Sulfur Compounds: Effect of the Partition Coefficients

The effect of the partition coefficient on the simulation of the operation of a biotrickling filter treating a mixture of sulfur compounds was analyzed to evaluate the pertinence of using Henry's law in determining its removal capacity. The analysis consisted of the simulation of a biotrickling filter that bio-oxides hydrogen sulfide (H2S), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), methyl mercaptan (MM) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) using different types of models for determining the partition coefficient: Henry's law for pure water, Henry's law adjusted from experimental data, a mixed model (Extended UNIQUAC) and a semi-empirical model of two-parameters. The simulations were compared with experimental data. It was observed that Henry's law for pure water could produce significant deviations from empirical data due to the liquid phase not being pure water. The two-parameter model better fits with similar results compared to the extended UNIQUAC model, with a lower calculation cost and necessary parameter amount. It shows that semi-empirical models can considerably improve simulation accuracy where complex phase interactions are present.