Ammonia Control Treatment
Ammonia is found in many places in the environment, including fertilizers, human waste, and industrial waste (dairy, meat, organics etc). Ammonia in wastewater is oxidised (broken down) by specific bacteria such as Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, and Nitrospira, all of which are relatively slow growing compared to other types of competing bacteria in a wastewater treatment system. They’re also sensitive to environmental factors such as pH, oxygen, age of the wastewater system (sludge age), concentration of heavy metals, design & operation of the wastewater treatment plant and temperature.
Cold temperatures can bring many upsets to wastewater treatment plants, the most common being rising ammonia levels or a loss of nitrification. Ammonia oxidising bacteria have thin cell walls, making them more susceptible to toxicity and cold weather only makes this worse by heavily slowing down the growth of the bacteria. If the nitrifiers take a hit from a chemical spill or other environmental factor it can be difficult for them to come back on their own opening the door for other competing species of bacteria to dominate.
Operators of wastewater treatment plants that suffer from high or fluctuating ammonia levels can turn to our ammonia control products to quickly reduce ammonia levels and reinstate the nitrification process to their aerated wastewater treatment system.
Ammonia Control Products