feature wastewater treatment

hong kong: WHILE The removal of ammonia from wastewater is a perennial challenge
for wastewater engineers, the country has incubated world-leading technology

Stripping Ammonia
in Anaerobic Digesters
Robert Eden discusses thermal stripping in Hong Kong

G
IVEN its high population density, coupled with the cleaner if in doubt), so it should not be unexpected that many
demanding environmental standards enforced by bacteria are similarly distressed.
the Environmental Protection Department, it is not
surprising that Hong Kong served as the incubator for our
process to remove ammonia from wastewater. What has The problem
resulted is a novel thermal ammonia stripping technology, Although ammonia is a source of nutrient for bacterial growth
which has low operating costs, high standards, and a small during AD, its inhibitory effect at high concentrations can be
footprint. lethally toxic to bacteria that have thrived on its presence at
Since 1997, the technology has been applied to both leachate lower concentrations.
from landfill sites, as well as the side-stream flows from an According to the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC),
anaerobic digester (AD). While highly focussed on the needs there are now 486 operational AD plants in the UK, with a
of Hong Kong, the technology is gaining momentum in other further 343 under development. AD is established as a commer-
countries, where environmental compliance is a serious issue cially viable form of renewable energy generation. The AD
to address. It is also moving from leachate cleanup applications process produces biogas, consisting of methane and carbon
into AD. dioxide, as well as various trace gases. Biogas can be used
To many engineers not involved with AD, the problems directly as fuel, in spark-ignition gas engines or upgraded to
caused by ammonia may come as a surprise. It is well known natural gas-quality biomethane. The nutrient-rich digestate
that ammonia is toxic to fish and humans (sniff that floor produced can be used as fertiliser.

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | The Chemical Engineer | page 45

ammoniav2 DG.indd 45 09/07/2019 14:17

 feature wastewater treatment

With an increasing global interest in producing biogas from food process efficiency considerations, there are also several tech-
waste, the difficulties encountered with ammonia poisoning of nology variants that may be deployed to control ammonia. It is
AD facilities are now becoming more frequently encountered. not so much a lack of choice, which is the issue here, but rather
Protein-rich substrates are valuable for methane produc- an understanding of the issues that may be encountered with
tion. They are of great interest in commercial biogas each option.
production. Unfortunately, high loadings with such materials
often correlate with process instability, due to the presence of Biological nitrification
ammonia, released from the degradation of amino acids during Biological nitrification is widely employed, well understood,
acidogenesis. and generally reliable. Biological nitrification produces varying
There are two forms of ammonia encountered in wastewa- amounts of sludge and requires both oxygen and carbon to
ter. The ionic form (NH4+) and the gaseous form (NH3). They are perform effectively. Large holding volumes are required.
related by the chemical formula: Significant air (oxygen) and carbon-source additions are also
required. The process may also produce nitrous oxide (N2O), a
NH3 + H+ ↔ NH4+ potent greenhouse gas.

Both forms can, directly and indirectly, cause inhibition in an Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox)
AD system, although NH3 is generally recognised to be the main In 1995 researchers discovered that Anammox, a previously
inhibitor. The balance of this equation is a function of pH and unknown bacterium, was converting ammonia directly into N2
temperature. Low pH and low temperature push the balance in a fluidised bed reactor. The process that was subsequently
towards NH4+. developed does not require carbon and produces less sludge.
Figures vary, but as ammonium ion concentrations increase Anammox bacteria are specialised and slow growing, which
in an anaerobic digester, typically above 1,000 mg/L, perfor- in turn leads to increased operational risk. Startup can be
mance, in terms of biogas production, drops off. Anaerobic measured in months.
digestion is fully inhibited at around 5,000 mg/L. It is, therefore,
an essential requirement to manage ammonia concentrations, Breakpoint chlorination
a requirement for which there exists a wide range of options. Chlorine is added to wastewater until all free organic
In the past, the most commonly-employed methods have compounds and ammonia are removed. A ratio of approxi-
been to lower the pH, to decrease the free ammonia concen- mately 8:1, chlorine to ammonia is required to convert all the
tration, or to dilute the digester contents with water. It is also ammonia into chloramines. Whilst this is a possible option for
possible to add lignocellulosic biomass, with a high C:N ratio, to discharge flows, it is not suitable for recycle flows. It requires
increase the C:N ratio of the substrate in the digester. potentially large additional quantities of chlorine where
Where such approaches are not possible, or not desirable for organic content is high.

Figure 1: options for ammonia removal in anaerobic digestion BIOGAS

AMMONIA REMOVAL
OPTION 1
AMMONIA REMOVAL
OPTION 3 BLOWER

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER

HYDROLYSIS- AMMONIA REMOVAL

FERMENTATION STAGE OPTION 4

AMMONIA REMOVAL
OPTION 2

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | The Chemical Engineer | page 46

ammoniav2 DG.indd 46 09/07/2019 14:17

 feature wastewater treatment

Zeolite ion exchange This results in issues similar to those of membrane contac-
Ammonium ions are swapped with cations within zeolite, tors with the on-site management of chemicals. A substantial
removing virtually all ammonia. The zeolite requires regular airflow is necessary to achieve stripping by this means, usually
regeneration, making application specific to small-scale in the range of 3,000:1, air to wastewater. It is also difficult
situations, such as aquaculture and swimming pools. to achieve better than 80% removal. Where chemicals are
available, pH-driven ammonia stripping provides a reliable
Membrane ion exchange physicochemical route for ammonia removal.
With this technology, ammonia passes through a membrane
into an ionic fluid, driven using electrical power. Ammonia Thermally-driven air stripping
may be recovered from the fluid or converted to nitrogen This requires significant additions of heat, which leads to
gas. The advantages here are the possibility of compact and high operational costs where waste heat is not available. Can
high-performance ammonia removal. The electrical load may achieve 98.5% removal. This technology does not usually
be an issue for some operators. Removing 5 t/d of ammonia require chemical additions.
requires approximately 2 MWe. Within a typical AD facility, there are four locations where
reduction or removal of ammonia may be possible (see Figure 1).
Membrane contactors
Ammonia diffuses through a hydrophobic membrane into • before digestion at the hydrolysis-fermentation stage;
sulfuric acid under osmotic pressure. The wastewater pH • during the digestion in a recycle flow;
needs to be increased to around 10, leading to notable chemical • during digestion within the main digester vessel; and
consumption. In many situations, the pH subsequently needs • post digestion, prior to discharge.
to be reduced by the addition of acid. However, as above, this
provides a compact solution where the management of the Research into the feasibility of removing ammonia during or
necessary chemicals can be accommodated. after the hydrolysis-fermentation stage has resulted in limited
success. The practical options are either within the digester
itself, in a recycle flow or from the discharge.
pH-driven air stripping Stripping ammonia within the digester vessel leaves
This type of air stripper requires pH adjustment to over pH 10. limited scope for process control. Work has been completed by
several researchers using biogas as a stripping medium. With
low-strength ammonia, this may be an option to consider.
The main opportunities for ammonia control in large-scale
Figure 2: Thermal Ammonia Stripper process flow diagram
commercial facilities are, therefore, in recycle and discharge
flows. The former impacts the AD process and leads to improved
HEAT performance. The latter is a matter of discharge compliance.

Thermal stripping in Hong Kong

The systems we have developed in Hong Kong are primarily for
discharge flows. Leachate, or in one case digester effluent, is
heated to the system operating temperature and passed down
EXHAUST through the stripper column, counter-current to a pre-heated
GAS airflow. The design ensures that the air collects up to 98.5% of
the ammonia gas into the air. The air is then passed directly
to a thermal oxidiser where it is combusted, destroying the
ammonia and releasing nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water to
WASTEWATER the atmosphere (see Figure 2).
When thermal air stripping was chosen in 1997 as the
BIOGAS core nitrogen removal process for the West New Territo-
AMBIENT
AIR ries (WENT) landfill site in Hong Kong, currently operated
AIR by Suez, thermal efficiency was not a performance criterion.
STRIPPER
With a design flow rate of 1,800 m3/day, recently upgraded to
THERMAL
OXIDISER 3,350 m3/day, as much landfill gas as necessary was availa-
ble for use. The first design duty for this first plant was for
DISCHARGE
an influent of 6,700 mg ammonia per litre of wastewater, to
be reduced to a discharge of 100 mg/L. The WENT facility

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | The Chemical Engineer | page 47

ammoniav2 DG.indd 47 09/07/2019 14:17

 feature wastewater treatment

now removes 14.5 t/d of ammonium ion. Subsequently, similar ammoniated wastewater;
processes have been installed on six additional sites around • no costs are incurred for chemical additions;
Hong Kong. • greenhouse gas production is mitigated by avoiding
Since the commissioning of the first plant, thermal effi- nitrous oxide formation (N2O);
ciency has gradually moved up the list of performance priorities • compared to biological processes, relatively rapid
to a point where it is now a tightly measured variable. Landfill startup can be achieved (1 or 2 hours);
gas in Hong Kong was once seen to be more of a nuisance than • there is no risk of biology failure;
an opportunity. Through improved energy recovery, process • substantial savings may be available from avoidance of
optimisation, and targeted reduction of the necessary airflow carbon-source costs;
rate, the thermal power requirement has been reduced to 20% • there is no sludge formation; and
of that of the first facilities. Options to utilise waste-heat • the system is relatively easy to operate compared to
sources have also been developed. biological processes.
The use of this technology with AD has also been under-
taken in Hong Kong. The application environment is different Where waste heat is available in the form of steam or heat
from that encountered with a typical leachate treatment plant, (from an engine exhaust, for example) there will be, subse-
but the basic principles remain the same. Commissioning in an quent to ammonia stripping from wastewater, a requirement
AD setting is challenging. Unlike a landfill, an AD facility is a to remove ammonia gas from the stripping air. This can be
more tightly-controlled process environment. done either by acid scrubbing, ammonia capture, or a cata-
There are several benefits attributable to thermal stripping lytic conversion. Using biogas or syngas as a source of heat
which indicate situations of optimum deployment: is, therefore, preferred. Here, employing thermal oxidation,
ammonia removed from wastewater can be converted directly
• high removal rates may be achieved in a relatively small into nitrogen and water.
footprint; More recently, in conjunction with staff from the University of
• the process is particularly suited to high-strength Warwick Department of Engineering, Organics has developed a

figure 3: WENT Ammonia Stripping

Plant, rated at 3,250 m3/day

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | The Chemical Engineer | page 48

ammoniav2 DG.indd 48 09/07/2019 14:17

 feature wastewater treatment

Figure 4: ammonia recovery Process flow diagram

EXHAUST AIR COLD WATER

CONDENSER

COOLING
AMMONIA
ABSORBER RECTIFIER PRODUCT

AMMONIATED
AIR
GENERATOR

HEAT RECOVERY
PUMP

process which facilitates recovery of either ammonium hydrox- of disposal. Ammonia may also be used in engines and turbines,
ide or anhydrous ammonia. This approach further develops two with ammonia as a fuel. During World War II ammonia was
key process themes: employing waste heat, and avoiding the used to power buses in Belgium. And more recently, Hideaki
use of chemicals. Ammonia-water systems are well understood Kobayashi, professor at the Institute of Fluid Science at Tohoku
and widely applied in refrigeration and adsorption cooling. The University in Sendai, Japan, developed the world’s first technol-
process flow diagram (PFD) for a system recovering ammonia ogy for direct combustion of ammonia in a gas turbine (https://
is provided in Figure 4. Clean, cold water is used to remove bit.ly/2JsK2LC). A high-octane rating of 120 and low flame
ammonia from stripping air. The water is then heated to concen- temperature permits the use of high compression ratios without
trate the ammonia gas as ammonium hydroxide. Additional the penalty of high NOx production. Since ammonia contains no
concentration and separation makes possible the formation of carbon, its combustion cannot produce carbon dioxide, carbon
anhydrous ammonia. monoxide, hydrocarbons, or soot.
Ammonia is joining the growing list of substances that need
to be prevented from polluting the environment and, where
Ammonia is joining the growing list of practical, can be recycled. It is expected that the demand for
substances which need to be prevented compact, low operational cost, ammonia removal technologies
from polluting the environment and, will increase.
where practical, can be recycled Sectors of growth are where large flows with elevated
ammonia concentrations are encountered, such as with landfills
The production of anhydrous ammonia leads to the question taking increased protein loadings, anaerobic digestors taking
of what to do with it. There exist many options, from simple food waste and industrial processes discharging ammoniated
combustion on-site to commercial use. Ammonia is used in a wastewaters – using waste heat to meet these objectives assists
wide range of applications, from pharmaceuticals and agricul- with ensuring a long-term sustainable solution to the challenge
ture to industrial cleaning and explosives. of ammonia pollution.
The energy content of liquid ammonia is 11.5 MJ/L, or approx-
imately 30% that of diesel. Ammonia may be used in fuel cells,
which offers the potential for a local, revenue-generating means Robert Eden is Managing Director, Organics Group

JULY/AUGUST 2019 | The Chemical Engineer | page 49

ammoniav2 DG.indd 49 09/07/2019 14:17