Operational experiences and strategies to get suitable chemolithoautotrophic sulfide-oxidizing biomass from activated sludge wastewater treatment plant for its deploying in a full-scale biogas desulfurization plant are described. An economic nutrient source was applied to foster microbial selection and rapid growth. Respirometry was implemented on full-scale installations to monitor the ability of the specialized bacteria consortium to oxidize reduced sulfur i.e. H2S. During the deployment in the full-scale desulfurization reactor, intermittent sulfide feed from biogas scrubbing was performed to accelerate the startup the desulfurization process. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.