Determination of kinetics and stoichiometry of chemical sulfide oxidation in wastewater of sewer networks

A method for determination of kinetics and stoichiometry of chemical sulfide oxidation by dissolved oxygen (DO) in wastewater is presented. The method was particularly developed to investigate chemical sulfide oxidation in wastewater of sewer networks at low DO concentrations. The method is based on continuous measurement of the reactants allowing the kinetics to be determined at varying reactant concentrations during the course of the experiment. The kinetics determined was simulated by a rate equation. The precision of the method was assessed in terms of the standard deviation of the kinetic parameters determined in a triplicate experiment. The kinetic parameters determined in 25 experiments on wastewater samples from a single site exhibited good constancy with a variation of the same order of magnitude as the precision of the method. It was found that the stoichiometry of the reaction could be considered constant during the course of the experiments although intermediates accumulated. This was explained by an apparent slow oxidation rate of the intermediates. The method was capable of determining kinetics and stoichiometry of chemical sulfide oxidation at DO concentrations lower than 1 g of O2 m(-3).