Assessment - Design - Solution

Organics USA provides solutions to remove ammonia from wastewater.
One of the principal contaminants that must be treated in landfill leachate, and in waste water in general, is ammonia. Ammonia-N is normally present in wastewater or in leachate in several forms. Treatment is therefore essential.

Composition of Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. In its simplest form ammonia is a colorless gas with a characteristically pungent smell.

Environmental Impact of Ammonia
Nitrogen is a major plant nutrient, but too much nitrogen in the form of nitrates in the effluent can cause explosive plant growth and algal blooms in watercourses, lakes and ponds. As the process also creates anoxic conditions, it can be deadly to aquatic lifeforms.

Ammonia in raw domestic sewage is found in concentrations of about 30 to 60 mg/liter. In leachate from landfill sites and other organic wastewater streams it may rise to several thousands of milligrams per liter. As ammonia is biologically oxidized to nitrate it exerts an oxygen demand on the receiving water. This can reduce dissolved oxygen in the water to a point where aquatic lifeforms cannot survive. Lethal concentrations range from 2.5 to 25 mg/l. Ammonia can also act as a fertilizer. Uncontrolled release of untreated water can cause a profuse growth of stringy bacteria and/or fungi.

Organics USA has developed a thermally-driven ammonia stripping process to remove ammonia fro wastewater or leachate that requires no chemical additions apart from minor additions of an anti-foam agent. The single important input is waste heat from, for example – the exhaust from on-site engines, which drives the chemical reactions.

Organics - Industrial Biogas Process System

Technology Overview