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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #390428
Research Project: Innovative Manure Treatment Technologies and Enhanced Soil Health for Agricultural Systems of the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Location: Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research

Title: Effect of operational conditions on ammonia recovery from simulated livestock wastewater using gas-permeable membrane technology

Author
item RIANO, BERTA - Institute Of Castilla - Spain
item MOLINUEVO-SALCES, BEATRIZ - Institute Of Castilla - Spain
item Vanotti, Matias
item GARCIA-GONZALEZ, MARIA CRUZ - Institute Of Castilla - Spain

Submitted to: Environments
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2022
Publication Date: 6/6/2022
Citation: Riano, B., Molinuevo-Salces, B., Vanotti, M.B., Garcia-Gonzalez, M. 2022. Effect of operational conditions on ammonia recovery from simulated livestock wastewater using gas-permeable membrane technology. Environments. 9(6):70. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments9060070.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/environments9060070

Interpretive Summary: Gas-permeable membranes (GPM) technology presents a high potential for capturing nitrogen (N) from waste waters rich in ammonia, such as livestock and municipal effluents, and producing ammonium fertilizers. This research evaluated the effect of three operational conditions on the performance of the GPM technology for capturing N from wastewater. The first operational condition evaluated was the ratio of initial mass of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) per membrane surface; it was found that the highest ratio presented the highest TAN recovery rate. The second operational condition evaluated was the ratio of volume of wastewater per volume of acidic trapping solution. In this case, the higher this ratio, the more concentrated was the recovered ammonium solution. The third operational condition evaluated was the initial TAN concentration of the acidic trapping solution; it was found that TAN recovery rates were best when the trapping solution was not saturated with TAN. Overall, tested conditions highly influence the performance of the GPM technology, being necessary to adjust these conditions to optimize the ammonia capture and reduce N losses.

Technical Abstract: Gas-permeable membrane (GPM) technology is a novel alternative to reduce nitrogen (N) content in wastewater whilst recovering N in form of an ammonium salt solution that can be used as fertilizer. This work aims to elucidate the effect of several operational conditions on the performance of the GPM technology for ammonia recovery at batch conditions using synthetic wastewater that simulated livestock wastewater. Firstly, the effect of the ratio of initial mass of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) per membrane surface from 197 to 936 grams (g) of N per square meter (m2) of membrane was investigated. The highest ratio presented the highest TAN recovery rate (90 g N per m2 per day). Secondly, the influence of the ratio of volume of wastewater per volume of acidic trapping solution in the range of 7.8 to 33.3 liters (L) per L was studied. In this case, the higher the ratio, the more concentration of N in the trapping solution, achieving a N concentration of 4.6 percent (%) when working with a ratio of 33.3 L/L. Finally, two different TAN concentrations (0 and 30 g N/L) in the acidic trapping solution were evaluated. The use of a trapping solution with a TAN concentration of 30 g N/L led to a reduction of the TAN recovery rate, which means that diffusion of ammonia through the membrane is more difficult as the trapping solution becomes saturated with TAN. Overall, tested conditions highly influence to the performance of the GPM technology, being necessary to set these conditions to optimize ammonia recovery and reduce N losses.