Cost Effective Technology to Help Geothermal Power Plants Reduce Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions by 98+

摘要

The geothermal brine in many areas of the world can contain significant levels of hydrogen sulfide. This is a significant source of corrosion and air pollution. Hydrogen sulfide exists as a gas and as a compound dissolved in water. Hydrogen sulfide, either comes out as a part of the non-condensable gasses (NCGs) or part of the steam and goes into the condensate. This condensate is used as make-up water to the cooling tower. As the concentration of the hydrogen sulfide increases in the water, the water reaches saturation and any additional hydrogen sulfide will be emitted as gas. Hydrogen sulfide is a poisonous gas and its concentration in the air is guided by the local and State EPA emission regulations and therefore, must be abated to protect the health of plant workers and surrounding communities. The NCGs are normally routed to bio-reactors or fluidized bed reactors to remove the H2S prior to releasing them directly to the atmosphere. The paper describes the development of patented technology to convert 98+% of the hydrogen sulfide either as NCG or dissolved in the condensate in to soluble anion sulfate. The paper also describes the details of the special feed equipment, the chemical stoichiometry of the synergistic blend of oxidants, and the results of the actual field study. The history the application of this technology at the geothermal plant also illustrates the robustness of the technology.