Groundwater at a site contains high concentrations of nitrogen in the form of ammonia and ammonium ions. The groundwater discharges to a pond, and ammonia in the pond exceeds regulatory criteria. One proposed remediation approach is to extract groundwater and use stripping to remove the nitrogen from the water.

a. Find the fraction of nitrogen that is in the form of ammonia (the strippable form) and generate a plot of the fraction of ammonia as a function of pH. The equilibrium constant is 1.82 x 10-5.

NH3 + H2O -> <- NH4 + + OH

b. The pH of the groundwater is approximately 6.5. Following stripping, the treated water would be discharged to the pond. Effluent would need to have a pH between pH = 6 and pH = 8. Provide a brief description of the treatment process and water quality adjustments required to remove ammonia and meet effluent requirements as well as associated challenges and costs.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

a To find the fraction of nitrogen in the form of ammonia as a function ... View the full answer