TY - JOUR

T1 - Pilot Scale Experiments for Ammonium Recovery from Sludge Liquor at a Municipal Waste Water Treatment Plant

AU - Eisbacher-Lubensky, Jan

AU - Ellersdorfer, Markus

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems SDEWES. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - The recovery of ammonium from sludge liquor using the ion exchanger loop stripping process was studied at a pilot scale plant at a municipal waste water treatment plant. The ion exchanger loop stripping process combines ion exchange and air stripping in a hybrid process and works with fixed bed columns containing natural zeolite (mainly clinoptilolite), which is alternately loaded and regenerated. The sodium hydroxide regeneration solution is simultaneously air stripped. Ammonium is recovered in a subsequent acid scrubber as concentrated ammonium sulfate solution, which is a suitable reducing agent for industrial off-gas treatment [nitrogen oxide (NOx) removal]. Pilot scale experiments demonstrated the technical feasibility of the process. The zeolite ion exchange capacity was stable over 62 loading and regeneration cycles. Ammonium removal rates of 69-94% were achieved in consecutive loading and regeneration cycles, when sludge liquor with a treatment capacity of 500 L h−1 and typical input concentrations from 500-1,500 mg NH4+ L−1 was treated.

AB - The recovery of ammonium from sludge liquor using the ion exchanger loop stripping process was studied at a pilot scale plant at a municipal waste water treatment plant. The ion exchanger loop stripping process combines ion exchange and air stripping in a hybrid process and works with fixed bed columns containing natural zeolite (mainly clinoptilolite), which is alternately loaded and regenerated. The sodium hydroxide regeneration solution is simultaneously air stripped. Ammonium is recovered in a subsequent acid scrubber as concentrated ammonium sulfate solution, which is a suitable reducing agent for industrial off-gas treatment [nitrogen oxide (NOx) removal]. Pilot scale experiments demonstrated the technical feasibility of the process. The zeolite ion exchange capacity was stable over 62 loading and regeneration cycles. Ammonium removal rates of 69-94% were achieved in consecutive loading and regeneration cycles, when sludge liquor with a treatment capacity of 500 L h−1 and typical input concentrations from 500-1,500 mg NH4+ L−1 was treated.

KW - Industrial nitrogen oxide removal agent

KW - Ion exchanger loop stripping process

KW - Natural zeolite

KW - Nitrogen recovery

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104342928&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.13044/j.sdewes.d8.0349

DO - 10.13044/j.sdewes.d8.0349

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85104342928

VL - 9.2020

JO - Journal of sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems

JF - Journal of sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems

SN - 1848-9257

IS - 2

M1 - 1080349

ER -