Abstract
It was demonstrated that the daily monitoring of electrical conductivity (EC) of scrubbing water can easily be used to determine the performance of biotrickling filters treating ammonia (NH3) emissions, generated by livestock facilities. Two different measurement campaigns were carried out on a pilot-scale biotrickling filter installed at a pig facility. Different phases of the operation were observed for each campaign, in accordance with EC values. For EC ranges of between 5 and 40 mS cm−1, performance was similar for both campaigns, indicating that the nitrogen accumulated in water (φ) was controlled by the operating conditions and biotrickling filter design (φ = 205 gN day−1 corresponding to 1.71 mS cm−1 day−1). Due to the correlation established in Part A of this study, the performance of the biotrickling filter can be directly expressed as gN h−1 m−3packing material without gas-phase monitoring. Thus, for an Empty Bed Residence Time of 1 s, the nitrogen accumulation capacity of the biotrickling filter was 24 gN h−1 m−3packing material. For higher EC values, the ammonia mass transfer slowed down and stopped with EC at around 50–60 mS cm−1 (campaign #1) and 70 mS cm−1 (campaign #2). It was evidenced that the mass transfer stopped due to ammonia mass transfer limitation controlled by the driving force, although biomass inhibition can occur at these levels of nitrogen concentration in the scrubbing liquid. EC monitoring can also be used to assess the ratio of nitrogen accumulated in water φ and amount of ammonia entering the system φmax. Thus φ/φmax ratios of 41% and 27% were recorded for campaign #1 and #2 respectively.
Highlights
Ammonia (NH3) emissions from livestock facilities are the target of many think tanks in several countries [1,2,3]
The ammonia load to be treated was more regular for campaign #2 than for campaign #1
The nitrogen accumulation in a biotrickling filter used to treat gaseous emissions generated by pig facilities could be determined by measuring the electrical conductivity (EC) of the scrubbing liquid
Summary
Ammonia (NH3) emissions from livestock facilities are the target of many think tanks in several countries [1,2,3]. The gaseous phase is sprayed by a scrubbing liquid (water) that continuously recirculates using a storage tank. NO2− and nitrate NO3−), which can limit the ammonia transfer rate To avoid this accumulation, part of the recirculating water can be discharged and replaced with fresh water. Part of the recirculating water can be discharged and replaced with fresh water This operation is not always carried out at livestock facilities, so that the ability of the biotrickling filters to remove ammonia are often questioned. A more robust technique is needed to determine the real performance of biotrickling filters in operation. Understanding why the monitored removal efficiencies do not meet expectations could explain the differences between calculated predictions and actual performance in operation, assisting manufacturers to propose apparatus improvements
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