Simulation and prediction of electrooxidation removal of ammonia and its application in industrial wastewater effluent.

A FLUENT software able to predict and assess the electrooxidation of ammonia from the simulation of ammonia concentration and flow field distribution was developed in this study. The flow field-based models of ammonia removal were simulated and modified through the experimental results. The parameter of reaction constant k is corrected to 0.00195, and the modified model fitted well with experimental values, with the error less than 4%. The electrode depth of 4 cm was assessed to be optimal for ammonia removal based on the comparison of the simulation results on ammonia concentration and flow field distribution. The prediction result applied in the industrial wastewater treatment indicated that complete ammonia could be achieved at 0.27 Ah/L, and about 50% of total nitrogen was removed at 0.8 Ah/L. About 7% of chloride ions are converted into inorganic by-products, indicating low biological toxicity and risk on environment. The energy consumption increased with the promotion of removal efficiency of total nitrogen, requiring 5.4 kWh/m(3) to remove 50% total nitrogen at 0.8Ah/L. The results show the practicability and feasibility of this FLUENT software tool on the simulation and prediction of electrooxidation process, which can provide the simulation parameter settings for the subsequent application.