Comparison of Sewage Sludge and Yard Waste Compost As Biofilter Material for Ammonia Removal

Abstract

Sewage sludge compost and yard waste compost were compared with respect to their efficiency as biofilter material for removing ammonia from air. Ammonia removal efficiency was investigated using both small-scale filter columns in the laboratory and large-scale filter columns operated at a pig farm. The laboratory experiments were carried out using 30 cm high columns with a volume of 250 cm3 supplied with an artificially produced ammonia-air mixture, whereas 1 m columns with a volume of 27 liters supplied with the ambient air from the pig stable were used in the large-scale experiments. All filter columns were able to remove more than 95% of the ammonia in the inlet regardless of compost type and applied air flow rate. Ammonia concentration profiles inside the compost columns measured at the end of the experiments indicated that sewage sludge compost removes ammonia at significantly higher specific rates than yard waste compost. The likely explanation is that sewage sludge compost contains higher numbers of nitrifying bacteria originating from the wastewater treatment process.