Ammonia removal from raw manure digestate by means of a turbulent mixing stripping process

In this study, ammonia stripping by means of a turbulent mixing process followed by pH neutralization was investigated as a simple and cost-effective ammonia removal technique to treat raw manure digestate. Batch tests conducted using CaO, NaOH and H2O2 to control pH and temperature and combinations thereof showed that sodium hydroxide was the most suitable chemical, as it is easy to handle, minimizes treatment time and costs, does not increase the solid content of the sludge and allows to easily control the stripping process. NaOH dosage mainly depended on buffering capacity rather than on total solid content. The analysis of the ammonia stripping process indicated that ammonia removal was strongly dependent on pH, and ammonia removal rate followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. Total solid content slightly influenced TAN removal efficiency. When NaOH was applied to treat raw digestate at pH 10 and mean temperature of 23 ± 2 °C, TAN removal efficiency reached 88.7% after 24 h of turbulent mixing stripping, without reaching inhibitory salinity levels. Moreover, pH neutralization with sulfuric acid following the stripping process improved raw digestate dewaterability.