Sulfide recovery using fluidized bed homogeneous crystallization technology to produce nickel sulfide from wastewater that contains sulfides

Po-Lin Liao; Nicolaus Mahasti; Laurencia Wiryana Effendi; Yao-Hui Huang

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116782

Sulfide recovery using fluidized bed homogeneous crystallization technology to produce nickel sulfide from wastewater that contains sulfides

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 1;236(Pt 1):116782. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116782. Epub 2023 Jul 28.

Authors

Po-Lin Liao¹, Nicolaus Mahasti¹, Laurencia Wiryana Effendi¹, Yao-Hui Huang²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan. Electronic address: yhhuang@mail.ncku.edu.tw.

PMID: 37517497
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116782

Abstract

Sulfide-containing wastewater, characterized by its foul odor, corrosiveness, and toxicity, can endanger human health. Fluidized-bed homogeneous crystallization (FBHC) avoids the excessive sludge production commonly associated with conventional chemical precipitation methods. In this study, FBHC is used to treat sulfur-containing synthetic wastewater. Furthermore, nickel-containing wastewater was utilized as a precipitant in the system, hence the advantage of simultaneous sulfur and nickel removal from the wastewater. The operating parameters, including pH, a precipitant dosage of [Ni²⁺]₀/[S^2-]₀, and cross-sectional surface loading (L_S, kg/m²h) are optimized. The optimum operating conditions of pH 9.8 ± 0.3, [Ni²⁺]₀/[S^2-]₀ = 0.8, and L_S = 1.5 kg/m²h results in total sulfur removal (TR) of 95.7% and crystallization ratio (CR) of 94.8%. The effect of organic compounds (acetic acid, oxalic acid, EDTA, and citric acid) and inorganic ions (NO₃^-, CO₃^2-, PO₄^3-, F^-, and Cl^-) on the nickel sulfide granulation process was discussed.

Keywords: Cross-sectional surface loading; Fluidized-bed homogeneous crystallization; Nickel sulfide; Sulfide removal.