Development of low-cost adsorbents derived from sludge of groundwater treatment for gaseous hydrogen sulfide removal

ABSTRACT

The goal of this research is to create adsorbents from groundwater treatment sludge that have the functional property of H₂S adsorption in air. The prepared adsorbent samples were characterized to have a main phase component of crystalline CaCO₃ (the average crystallite size of 25–36 nm), finely dispersed on the surface by an amorphous oxide phase of silicon and iron metals. The raw sludge when drying at 105°C for 24 h (SL-105) was shown to be effective for the adsorption, with H₂S removal efficiency ($x_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}}$) decreasing from 100% to 74% in adsorption time 70 min (conditions: adsorption temperature of 25°C; inlet H₂S concentration of 4000 ppm; inlet gas-air flow rate of 2.0 L/min; adsorbent mass of 10.0 g). The SL-105 sample, when calcinated at 300°C, showed a higher $x_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}}$ of ~ 75% in 100 min; the adsorption capacity ($a_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}}$) of the latter could be increased to ~ 75% ($a_{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{S}}$ ≈507.5 mg/g) in 600 min when it was impregnated with copper oxide. The H₂S adsorption process was found to be chemisorption and monolayer, following the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thus, it is obvious that economically and technically efficient adsorbents derived from sludge precursors can be effectively used for H₂S purification in air.

KEYWORDS:

• Hydrogen sulfide
• calcite
• sludge
• adsorption
• impregnation

Acknowledgements

This research is funded by Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City under grant number C2022-20-27. We acknowledge Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), VNU-HCM for this study.

Disclosure statement

The author(s) have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Author contributions

LPT Hien: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Resources. TS Cam: Formal analysis, Visualization, Software, Writing – original draft. TK Nguyen and L Van: Data curation, Investigation. VTT Thuy and NT Thuy: Formal analysis, Validation, Supervision, Methodology. DV Thanh: Methodology, Material characterization. KYA Lin: Validation, Methodology. NN Huy: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City [C2022-20-27].

Notes on contributors

Lam Pham Thanh Hien

Lam Pham Thanh Hien received his Master degree (2020) in Environmental Engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. He is a technician at Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM. His current interest is environmental analysis and treatment.

Thanh Son Cam

Thanh Son Cam received an international scholarship from the Vietnamese government to study abroad at the Russian Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology (Novomoskovsk Institute) in 2011–2016. He then received a master’s degree in chemistry in 2018 at the St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology, where he continued his research and successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis (in 2022). At the end of 2022, Dr. Cam started working at Duy Tan University as a junior researcher, focusing on the field of catalysis.

Tran Khai Nguyen

Tran Khai Nguyen was undergraduate students in Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM when they conducted this research. They received their B.E. degree in Environmental Engineering in 2022 and are now working in private companies as environmental engineers.

Lam Van

Lam Van was undergraduate students in Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM when they conducted this research. They received their B.E. degree in Environmental Engineering in 2022 and are now working in private companies as environmental engineers.

Nguyen Thi Thuy

Nguyen Thi Thuy received her Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. She is currently a lecturer and vice-dean at the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, International University, VNU-HCM. She is interested in finding new methods/technologies and new materials for water and wastewater treatment, and air pollution control.

Vo Thi Thanh Thuy

Vo Thi Thanh Thuy graduated with a master’s degree from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam, in November 2020. In April 2021, she began her career as a lecturer at HCMUT. In 2023, she was awarded the Elite Scholarship from National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan, and is currently a doctoral student there.

Dang Van Thanh

Dang Van Thanh received his PhD degree in Material Science and Engineering from Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, in 2014. He is currently a lecturer at Faculty of Basic Sciences, TNU- University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vietnam. His research interests are particularly on electrochemical/sonoelectrochemical preparation of metal oxide, graphene, graphene/metal oxide nanocomposite and its application for electrochemical sensing of As, Pb, Glucose, Uric in aqueous solutions and environmental remediations.

Kun-Yi Andrew Lin

Kun-Yi Andrew Lin received his Ph.D. from the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University (USA). He is currently working as a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on development of advanced materials and catalysts for energy and environmental applications. In the past few years, he has been becoming one of leading experts for environmental applications of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives. He has also served as editors for Chemical Engineering Journal, Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, and Energy & Environment. Dr. Lin has co-authored more than 400 SCI journal papers with a H-index of 63 and more than 15000 citations. From February 2024, Prof. Lin also joins the Institute of Analytic and Environmental Sciences at National Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu City, Taiwan) as a joint-appointment professor.

Nguyen Nhat Huy

Nguyen Nhat Huy received his Ph.D. (2015) degree in Environmental Engineering from National Chiao Tung University. He is an associate professor in Department of Environmental Engineering and leader of the NanoEnv research group at Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, VNU-HCM. His current interest is the preparation and application of nanomaterials for air pollution, water, and wastewater treatment.