Evaluation of Sulfide Control by Air-Injection in Sewer Force Mains: Field and Laboratory Study

Chemical and biological processes consume dissolved oxygen (DO) in urban wastewater during transportation along sewer systems. Anaerobic conditions (DO < 0.2 mg/L) are easily reached, leading to sulfide (S2−) generation. Release of free sulfide, hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S), from the liquid to the gaseous phase, causes odor, corrosion of pipes and supposes a risk for health of people working in sewers. These issues get worse in force mains, due to inability to take oxygen from the gaseous phase of pipe. Air injection is a suggested practice to control H2S emission in force mains. That technique aims to keep aerobic conditions in wastewater in order to avoid sulfide generation and favor a decrease of Biochemical Organic Demand (BOD). However, several force mains with air injection are not achieving their goals due to a limited oxygen transfer. Field measurements of dissolved oxygen in urban wastewater are presented in an existing force main with air injection during the summer of 2014 in the southeast of Spain. A laboratory scale model is constructed to quantify two-phase flow conditions in pipe due to air injection for different incoming flows rates of water and air. Particularly, for the case of plug flow, also known as elongated bubble flow. Velocity field measurement of water phase in laboratory allows estimating turbulent diffusivity of oxygen in the water, Em, and inter-phase mass transfer coefficient KL(T). In the laboratory, flow and air depth, bubble length, water velocity field, pressure inside force main and water and airflow rates are determined experimentally. These variables are used to assess DO in water phase of force main by comparison with those obtained from field measurements. This work allows assessing air injection efficiency in wastewater, and, therefore, to predict DO in wastewater in force mains.