Ambient hydrogen sulphide levels at a wastewater treatment plant

Abstract

This paper describes a novel technique of measuring ambient hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) concentrations simultaneously at several locations around a wastewater treatment plant. A commercially purchased H₂S monitor is modified to operate in a ‘static mode’ to enable degree of darkening on pieces of lead acetate tapes to be correlated againts the exposure duration and the ambient H₂S concentration of sewage air. The technique can yield mapped contours of time—average H₂S concentrations as low as 0.2 ppm. The methodology is exemplified for a wastewater treatment plant in Ipswich, Queensland. Isopleths of H₂S concentration obtained at the wastewater site for two different meteorological conditions reveal that high levels of H₂S are detected around the plant's inlet structure and primary clarifiers.