Electrolysis of ammonia effluents: A remediation process with co-generation of hydrogen

The technical and economical feasibility of implementing electro-oxidation of ammonia process for the removal of ammonia and the cogeneration of hydrogen was studied. To simulate waste water treatment plant conditions, low concentrations of ammonia were evaluated in an alkaline solution of potassium hydroxide and the same temperature range. Using an electrode designed for higher concentrations of ammonia, preliminary results were obtained for low concentrations of ammonia. Modifications would be made to the electrode to increase the current response. The electrode would be designed to produce a high reactivity catalyst process in the effluent stream conditions. Current experiments were developed with Carbon Fiber Electrodes plated with noble metals to increase their surface area. The electrochemical performance of the electrode would be measured using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic polarization techniques. The optimized design of the electrodes as well as their performance in low ammonia concentrations were discussed. An economics analysis of the technology were presented. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 2005 AIChE Annual Meeting and Fall Showcase (Cincinnati, OH 10/30/2005-11/4/2005).