Southern Man
DIY Hillbilly
I would let them in if they didn't charge anything. After all, it is to fix their system that didn't work from the start. But hydrogen peroxide and chlorine do the same thing.
I've read up on this a bit and there are some things that may help you understand the situation a bit better:
1. The smell is hydrogen sulphide H2S. Concentrations down to 0.05 ppm (1000 times less than you have) can create odor problems. Although it is common in well water, it can be formed from bacteria in your well, so that should be checked first. This would be done by shock treatment- chlorination of the well.
2. Chlorine will oxidize H2S to insoluble sulphide particles that can then be removed with a filter. The reaction takes time so you need a contact tank to allow time for it to occur. What I’ve read says use a sand filter but there might be other types of filters to use. You need 100ppm Cl to oxidize 50ppm H2S. Normally activated carbon is used as a finishing step to remove excess chlorine.
3. Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 will oxidize H2S as well. Again you’ll need a contact tank and a filter. You need 50ppm H2O2 to oxidize 50ppm H2S. You should not need activated carbon because excess H2O2 forms water and oxygen. Maybe it is they who are the schleps and used the carbon on the wrong type of system.
4. What I’ve been reading is for treatment of relatively low concentrations. You may need to use a primary step, such as aeration, to remove the bulk of the H2S, then proceed with chemical treatment. An aeration system could be a tower mounted outside, trickling water over coarse media (rock or plastic shapes) with a fan on top drawing air from openings in the bottom. You may need more than one pass in the tower, with a pump recirculating water from the bottom (instead of just a single pass, using only the well pump). Of course where you are you need to be concerned with freezing an all that. Someone who’s creative could do a fountain or a water fall as part of this process.
Again I suspect that this company got in over their head because of the high concentration. The only understand that equipment that they sell (if that), so aren’t able to “think out of the box†and propose a different type of system. You would be wise to hire a local environmental engineer who doesn’t have a financial interest in specifying a particular system or brand.
I've read up on this a bit and there are some things that may help you understand the situation a bit better:
1. The smell is hydrogen sulphide H2S. Concentrations down to 0.05 ppm (1000 times less than you have) can create odor problems. Although it is common in well water, it can be formed from bacteria in your well, so that should be checked first. This would be done by shock treatment- chlorination of the well.
2. Chlorine will oxidize H2S to insoluble sulphide particles that can then be removed with a filter. The reaction takes time so you need a contact tank to allow time for it to occur. What I’ve read says use a sand filter but there might be other types of filters to use. You need 100ppm Cl to oxidize 50ppm H2S. Normally activated carbon is used as a finishing step to remove excess chlorine.
3. Hydrogen peroxide H2O2 will oxidize H2S as well. Again you’ll need a contact tank and a filter. You need 50ppm H2O2 to oxidize 50ppm H2S. You should not need activated carbon because excess H2O2 forms water and oxygen. Maybe it is they who are the schleps and used the carbon on the wrong type of system.
4. What I’ve been reading is for treatment of relatively low concentrations. You may need to use a primary step, such as aeration, to remove the bulk of the H2S, then proceed with chemical treatment. An aeration system could be a tower mounted outside, trickling water over coarse media (rock or plastic shapes) with a fan on top drawing air from openings in the bottom. You may need more than one pass in the tower, with a pump recirculating water from the bottom (instead of just a single pass, using only the well pump). Of course where you are you need to be concerned with freezing an all that. Someone who’s creative could do a fountain or a water fall as part of this process.
Again I suspect that this company got in over their head because of the high concentration. The only understand that equipment that they sell (if that), so aren’t able to “think out of the box†and propose a different type of system. You would be wise to hire a local environmental engineer who doesn’t have a financial interest in specifying a particular system or brand.