TY - JOUR
T1 - Load ratio determines the ammonia recovery and energy input of an electrochemical system
AU - Rodríguez Arredondo, Mariana
AU - Kuntke, Philipp
AU - Ter Heijne, Annemiek
AU - Hamelers, Hubertus V.M.
AU - Buisman, Cees J.N.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Complete removal and recovery of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) from wastewaters in (bio)electrochemical systems has proven to be a challenge. The system performance depends on several factors, such as current density, TAN loading rate and pH. The interdependence among these factors is not well understood yet: insight is needed to achieve maximum ammonium recovery at minimal energy input. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of current density and TAN loading rate on the recovery efficiency and energy input of an electrochemical cell (EC). We therefore defined the load ratio, which is the ratio between the applied current and the TAN loading rate. The system consisted of an EC coupled to a membrane unit for the recovery of ammonia. Synthetic wastewater, with TAN concentration similar to urine, was used to develop a simple model to predict the system performance based on the load ratio, and urine was later used to evaluate TAN transport in a more complex wastewater. High fluxes (up to 433 gN m−2 d−1) and recovery efficiencies (up to 100%) were obtained. The simple model presented here is also suited to predict the performance of similar systems for TAN recovery, and can be used to optimize their operation.
AB - Complete removal and recovery of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) from wastewaters in (bio)electrochemical systems has proven to be a challenge. The system performance depends on several factors, such as current density, TAN loading rate and pH. The interdependence among these factors is not well understood yet: insight is needed to achieve maximum ammonium recovery at minimal energy input. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of current density and TAN loading rate on the recovery efficiency and energy input of an electrochemical cell (EC). We therefore defined the load ratio, which is the ratio between the applied current and the TAN loading rate. The system consisted of an EC coupled to a membrane unit for the recovery of ammonia. Synthetic wastewater, with TAN concentration similar to urine, was used to develop a simple model to predict the system performance based on the load ratio, and urine was later used to evaluate TAN transport in a more complex wastewater. High fluxes (up to 433 gN m−2 d−1) and recovery efficiencies (up to 100%) were obtained. The simple model presented here is also suited to predict the performance of similar systems for TAN recovery, and can be used to optimize their operation.
KW - Ammonia removal
KW - Electrochemical cell
KW - Nitrogen recovery
KW - TransMembraneChemiSorption (TMCS)
KW - Urine treatment
U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2016.12.051
DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2016.12.051
M3 - Article
SN - 0043-1354
VL - 111
SP - 330
EP - 337
JO - Water Research
JF - Water Research
ER -