Optimization of a wet scrubber with electrolyzed water spray—Part I: Ammonia removal

ABSTRACTElectrolyzed water (EW) is an effective disinfectant with a wide range of pH. EW in acid range was proved to be an ammonia absorbent which make it valuable for wet scrubbers used in animal feeding operations (AFOs). This study aimed to optimize the design and operating parameters of a wet scrubber with EW spray for ammonia removal, based on the size distribution of droplets, the property of EW and the reduction efficiency of ammonia. The optimized parameters included droplet size, nozzle flow rates, pH and available chlorine concentration (ACC) of EW, nozzle number at single stage, stage number, initial ammonia concentration and air speed in the duct. The ammonia removal efficiency increased with the decrease of droplet size and the increase of flow rate. The pH values of EW showed significant influence on ammonia removal efficiency (P ˂ 0.05), while ACC of the EW showed no significant influence (P > 0.05). For inlet ammonia concentration of 70 ppm with one and three spray stages, the wet scrubber...