Production of sulphides in denitrifying woodchip bioreactors

Denitrifying woodchip bioreactors, natural treatment systems used for the reduction of nitrates in agricultural runoff or groundwater, may cause adverse side effects within receiving waters. One of the least studied but nonetheless still serious issues is the production of hydrogen sulphide, which occurs in bioreactors under operating conditions favourable to its creation. The aim of this paper is to elucidate the effect of process parameters on the production of sulphides and the proportion of hydrogen sulphide in a 1-year-long experimental study with four laboratory-scale denitrifying bioreactors. During the study, the strong dependence of sulphate reduction and the production of sulphides on the effluent oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) concentrations of bioreactors became evident. Sulphide formation occurred at concurrent effluent NO₃-N concentrations below 3 mg/L and ORPs lower than - 100 mV. The tested hydraulic retention time of 1.7 days was sufficiently long to achieve these conditions. At an effluent pH of 7 or lower, the majority of the total sulphides present were in the form of hydrogen sulphide. It is suggested that in order to avoid the production of hydrogen sulphide, the production of total sulphides has to be minimised.