2026-04-18T00:22:36Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2117/4489232026-02-05T03:15:21Zcom_2072_1033col_2072_452950

Long-term performance and operational factors of a pilot-scale bioscrubber for landfill biogas desulfurization Torres Herrera, Sandra Palomares Cortes, Javier González Cortés, Joaquin Jesús Cubides Páez, David Fernando Gamisans Noguera, Javier Cantero Moreno, Domingo Ramírez Muñoz, Martín Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria Minera, Industrial i TIC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. RIIS - Grup de Recerca en Recursos i Indústries Intel·ligents i Sostenibles Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Recursos energètics renovables Biogas Microbial community dynamics Anoxic biodesulfurization Landfill leachate Bioscrubber Nitrification Landfill biogas is a renewable energy source, but its utilization is hindered by hydrogen sulfide, a corrosive and toxic compound. Anoxic biodesulfurization using nitrified landfill leachate as a sustainable nitrate source provides a cost-effective and circular strategy for H2S removal. This study investigates the long-term performance of anoxic biodesulfurization of landfill biogas using a pilot-scale bioscrubber (1 m3) fed with nitrified landfill leachate over 61 weeks. A total volume of 264,812 m3 of biogas was treated, achieving an average H2S removal efficiency (RE) of 85.2 ± 10.1 %. Optimal performance, reaching 97 ± 3 % RE, was obtained at an inlet load of 7.71 ± 0.16 gS-H2S m-3 h-1, pH 7.98 ± 0.07, and temperature 30.58 ± 3.16 °C. The research examined the impact of key operational parameters: oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) control influenced sulfur selectivity but proved challenging to stabilize; temperature showed a strong correlation with performance, with efficiency generally declining when reactor values dropped below ~22 °C; and pH substantially affected performance, with efficiency decreasing at more acidic values (RE below 60 %, pH below 7.5). Microbial analysis revealed a dynamic bacterial community adapting to operational conditions, with Thioalkalispira-Sulfurivermis (relative abundance above 18 %) identified as the predominant functional genus. The system demonstrated resilience to operational disturbances like recirculation pump failure and fluctuations in biogas flow rate. This study provides valuable insights into the practical application of anoxic bioscrubbers for landfill biogas biodesulfurization, highlighting controlling factors and offering a foundation for enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of biogas purification technologies under real-world constraints. This study is supported by the Green Fund and the LIFE project (EC): “Sustainable biogas purification system in landfills and municipal solid wastes treatment plants (LIFE BIOGASNET)”, LIFE18 ENV/ES/000426, ad from the infrastructure project EQC2018-004212-P funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI), Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). We thank Helena Torrell Galceran and Adrià Cereto-Massagué from the Genomics and Bioinformatics facility of the Centre for Omic Sciences (COS) Joint Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili-Eurecat, for their contribution to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Peer Reviewed Postprint (published version) 2025-12-01 Article Torres-Herrera, S. [et al.]. Long-term performance and operational factors of a pilot-scale bioscrubber for landfill biogas desulfurization. «Journal of cleaner production», 1 Desembre 2025, vol. 534, núm. article 147100. 0959-6526 https://hdl.handle.net/2117/448923 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.147100 eng https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652625024576 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Open Access Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International application/pdf Elsevier