Nitrogen as threat to the biosphere

Nitrogen emissions are under sever investigation at several parts in Europe at the moment. Part of the emissions in the form of NOx, nitrates or ammonia are originated in the (chemical) industry. Ecosystems has the technology to reduce nitrogen in any form to practically zero.

A large fertiliser producer in the Netherlands asked Ecosystems 5 years ago to come with a design for efficient removal of Ammonia and Ammonium Nitrate.

A clever design combining Ammonia removal and dust removal was designed, built and is now in operation.  See image 1
Features are: compact design by using structured packing, not only reducing the diameter and height of the equipment, but at the same time reducing pressure drop to save energy. See image 2

In total 3 units were supplied. The performance is exceeding the expectations, emissions close to 1 mg/Nm3 were collected.
The waste stream of the scrubber is eliminated by installing an acidifying system using nitric acid and concentrating the liquid up to 40% to feed back into the process.

Process design with knowledge of the parameters to achieve this are combined with a clever mechanical design resulting in a quick integration in the process giving ultra short turnaround times. See image 3

Other examples of zero waste solutions include scrubbing with water. By accurate controls the emission levels can be below the requirement. The collected ammonia solution can be used for neutralization or send to recovery plants. See image 4

Solution for emergency scrubbers for ammonia leaks are available, working with a fixed amount of acid solution, no need to pre-wet the packing. Unit is operational from the start.