Innovative Approaches to Achieving Ammonia Limits

As part of its ammonia compliance strategy, the City of St. Joseph, Missouri took an innovative approach to work with its industrial community to develop a public/private partnership to achieve compliance and reduce costs. The focus of this program relied on an investment in new approaches and technologies which when installed could result in significant savings to both parties.Multiple demonstration projects have been completed to address various concerns by the specific industrial users. In some cases the results have been successful and industries have implemented the technologies. In other cases additional research is being conducted to develop design and operating conditions. Initial technologies identified by the industrial users included the implementation of microsreens and anammox to treat industrial flows. Demonstration studies have been conducted using: two different microscreens, suspended growth anammox in an SBR configuration and attached growth anammox in a moving bed bioreactor configuration. Based on results of the study, one industrial user has implemented the microscreen. The anammox piloting has provided mixed results and is ongoing. Conceptually, if implemented, anammox has the potential to save the City $20 to 30 million in capital expenses over an existing nitrification/denitrification design to the existing plant. In addition to saving the City capital investment, if implemented anammox would allow industrial users to continue to expand without impacting planned improvements at the treatment plant.