Research into efficiency of ammonia removal from polluted air using an adsorber with glauconite packing material

Abstract

In recent decades climate change caused by human economic activities has been a matter of growing concern worldwide. Waste production and management resulting from intensified human activities is one of they core environmental problems. Generated waste can be used for the recovery of biogas; however, another problem arises - undesirable pollutant emissions from biogas. In a biogas recovery alternative, pollutants, such as hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3), make an adverse impact on equipment causing its corrosion. During experimental tests with biodegradable waste the amount of ammonia released in bioreactors was recorded. Adsorbents of a natural origin - glauconite and zeolite - were used for biogas purification. When the initial ammonia concentration was 24.2 mg/m3, the efficiency of purification using glauconite packing material reached 93.0%, while when the pollutant's initial concentration stood at 24.0 mg/m3 zeolite packing material produced a cleaning efficiency of 77.4%.