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Electrochemically and Bioelectrochemically Induced Ammonium Recovery
Published on: January 22, 2015
Ammonia removal by sweep gas membrane distillation
Zongli Xie1, Tuan Duong, Manh Hoang
1CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering, Private Bag 33, Clayton South, Vic. 3169, Australia. zongli.xie@csiro.au
Water Research
|February 7, 2009
Summary
Sweep gas membrane distillation effectively removes ammonia from wastewater. Optimized conditions achieved 97% ammonia removal, yielding treated water with only 3.3 mg/L ammonia.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Water Treatment Technologies
Background:
- Ammonia is a common pollutant in wastewater.
- Effective ammonia removal is crucial for environmental protection and water reuse.
- Membrane distillation offers a potential solution for ammonia separation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the removal of low-level ammonia from simulated wastewater using sweep gas membrane distillation.
- To evaluate the impact of key operating parameters on ammonia removal efficiency, permeate flux, and selectivity.
- To identify optimal conditions for maximizing ammonia removal.
Main Methods:
- Simulated wastewater with 100 mg/L ammonia at pH 11.5 was used.
- Sweep gas membrane distillation was employed for ammonia separation.
- Experiments varied feed temperature, gas flow rate, and feed flow rate.
Main Results:
- Feed temperature significantly influenced permeate flux and selectivity, with higher temperatures increasing flux but decreasing selectivity.
- Increased gas flow rate enhanced ammonia removal efficiency.
- Optimal conditions (highest temperature and fastest gas flow rate) achieved 97% ammonia removal.
Conclusions:
- Sweep gas membrane distillation is a viable technology for removing low concentrations of ammonia from wastewater.
- Operating parameters, particularly feed temperature and gas flow rate, must be carefully controlled for efficient ammonia removal.
- The study demonstrated the potential to reduce ammonia levels to 3.3 mg/L, meeting stringent water quality standards.
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