Ammonia Removal from High Strength Wastewater using a Hybrid Electro-Oxidation and Electro-Coagulation Process

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High-strength wastewater generated from municipal solid wastes (MSW) landfills, also known as leachates,poses a significant challenge for treatment via conventional wastewater treatment facilities. Leachate containshigh amounts of organic matter, inorganic macro-components, heavy metals, and many other hazardouschemicals. High concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (AN) in leachates poses a substantial toxicity risk toadjacent surface and groundwater sources and necessitates proper treatment of these leachates to meet localstandards for safe disposal or reuse. Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOP) likeelectro-oxidation (EO) and electro-coagulation (EC) could serve as a useful means to treat leachates originatingfrom MSW landfills. In EO, the direct action of electric current is used to oxidize or reduce species exclusivelyat the electrodes, which convert toxic and/or biorefractory pollutants into more benign chemicals. On the otherhand, EC involves the generation of coagulants in situ by electrically dissolving metal ions (aluminum or iron)at the anodes. These coagulants quickly form large particulate flocs, which in turn chemically adsorb pollutantsfrom wastewater. The combination of these two EAOPs into a single electrolytic cell is expected todemonstrate excellent potential for the removal of AN from high strength leachates. Since these processes donot require the addition of any chemicals from external sources, they can be considered as "clean" technology.The outcomes of this project will significantly add value for the company, GHD, and Canada in general. Ineffect, this project aims to develop practical solutions for the treatment of high-strength leachate and preservethe quality of our environment. Although existing treatment technologies easily remove the organic load fromleachate, the removal of ammonia presents a significant challenge. The proposed hybrid EO-EC system isexpected to reduce a substantial portion of the ammonia and organic load from high strength leachate. Theprocess will also eliminate the need for chemical inputs and will enable the design of compact reactors in asmall area to treat high-strength wastewater.