[White paper] Technical specifications for biological removal of ammonia in drinking water

In this manual, you will find guidelines about the technical specifications for an efficient removal of ammonia:

• Size, flow rate, contact time and backwash procedures to design efficient bio-aerated filters (BAF) 

• Evaluation of expected operation savings and smaller footprint for treatment facilities when using Filtralite media in BAFs 

• Tips from Putatan II Drinking Water Plant (Philippines) success story about ammonia removal with Filtralite media 

Fill out the form to get access to the full document -  and find out about the most efficient process to remove ammonia in drinking water.

Why choose a biological process to remove ammonia in drinking water treatment?

Ammonium, non-ionized (NH3) and ionized (NH4+) species, can be present in excess in raw water when the intake is polluted by agricultural and urban runoff, activities related to animal feed and wastewater treatment plants. Ammonium needs to be removed before water is disinfected with chlorine, as it reacts with chlorine and produces byproducts which can provoke serious health problems.  

Additionally, high ammonia levels may interfere with the removal of other contaminants such as arsenic, iron, and manganese. Ammonia in raw water may also result in nitrification in the distribution systems, and can cause corrosion, poor taste, and odour issues. 

Physical-chemical or biological processes can be used to remove the ammonium present in water before it is put into the water distribution system. The concept of biologic nitrification is well known in waste water treatment. However, in the treatment of drinking water, it is an improvement over the traditional approach of eliminating ammonia nitrogen by breakpoint chlorination. The main problem with the breakpoint method is that the demand of ammonium to chlorine is about 1 to 10, thus ammonia removal would result in high volumes of reagent to be added.  

We have put together a white paper showing how biological removal using Filtralite products as a carrier media is a cost effective and sustainable process for ammonia removal.