Recover ammonia with electricity. No waste heat required.
OTAR Electric strips ammonia from anaerobic digestion wastewater using electricity alone. No waste heat, no cheap gas, no chemicals.
- 28 years
- Of ammonia stripping in service at WENT, running since 1998
- 290+
- Projects delivered since 1989, across gas, biogas and wastewater
- 16
- Ammonia removal projects delivered at Hong Kong landfills
- 3,450 m³/day
- Treated at WENT after its 2016 stripping plant expansion
Ammonia has to be treated, and the usual options are not good ones.
With no waste heat, most operators are pushed into a chemical process that can mean around 20 tonnes of sulphuric acid a day to buy, store and handle at large sites. And while they pay to neutralise ammonia, they miss the chance to recover it, sell it and reuse their water.
- 01
Waste heat is disappearing
Heat and cheap gas are rarely free any more, because most sites already use what they have. Thermal stripping only works where heat is plentiful.
- 02
The fallback is chemical
Without heat, the option most operators know is a chemical process. At scale that can mean around 20 tonnes of sulphuric acid a day to buy, store and handle.
- 03
Revenue is left on the table
Ammonia recovered from organic waste can sell for up to about $2,000 a tonne in the US. Treating it as a cost to neutralise throws that value away.
- 04
Wastewater stays unusable
Ammonia keeps the water from being reused. In drought-prone areas such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, that is a second cost on top of treatment.
The same proven stripping process, powered by electricity.
OTAR Electric recovers ammonia from wastewater using the stripper-column technology Organics has run in service since 1998. Instead of relying on waste heat or cheap gas, it runs on electricity alone.
That matters because heat is rarely free any more. Most sites already use what they have, and without it the only option many operators know is a chemical process that consumes sulphuric acid by the tonne.
Proven stripping, in service since 1998
At WENT, Hong Kong's largest landfill, the stripping plant has treated leachate at a design flow of 1,800 m3/d since 1998, with no alkali dosing and no sulphuric acid scrubbing. OTAR Electric builds on that process.
OTAR Thermal
Where waste heat is plentiful
- Uses waste heat or cheap gas to drive the stripping, which keeps running costs low wherever that heat really is free.
- Needs a steady supply of heat, and most sites already use what they have, so it fits only where heat would otherwise go to waste.
- Proven at landfill sites in Hong Kong, where waste heat is plentiful. Few other places have that advantage today.
OTAR Electric
Where there is no waste heat
- Runs on electricity alone, so a site with no waste heat or gas supply can still recover its ammonia instead of falling back on chemicals.
- Uses the same stripper column as OTAR Thermal, so it builds on proven hardware instead of a new design.
- No chemicals to buy, store or handle, and the recovered ammonia can be sold: up to about $2,000 a tonne in the US.
From wastewater problem to ammonia revenue, step by step.
How OTAR Electric takes a site from a wastewater problem to recovered ammonia and reusable water.
- 1
Assess the site
We look for ammonia-rich wastewater, typically from anaerobic digestion of manure, a live need to treat it now, and no usable waste heat or cheap gas.
- 2
Choose the route
Where waste heat is plentiful, OTAR Thermal can fit. Where it is not, OTAR Electric is the way to strip ammonia without resorting to chemicals.
- 3
Build the commercial case
Recovered ammonia is a product, worth up to about $2,000 a tonne in the US. We work with you to line up a buyer, and can supply the technology in exchange for the ammonia where upfront cost is the barrier.
- 4
Strip the ammonia with electricity
The wastewater runs through stripper columns powered by electricity alone: about 1.5 columns rather than 3, and no chemicals to buy or handle. No pilot plant is needed first.
- 5
Recover and sell the ammonia
The ammonia is captured as an aqueous product and sold, turning a treatment cost into income.
- 6
Reuse the water
With the ammonia removed, the wastewater can be reused, a real benefit in drought-prone regions such as Spain, Italy and Portugal.
About Organics
Engineering that has cleaned up waste around the world since 1993.
Organics designs and delivers environmental control equipment for landfill sites and other places where pollution control is a requirement. Equipment supply overseas began in 1993 with flare systems to Mexico, and the company now works across Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia.
- Worldwide
- Agents and direct representation, with local support
- Finance & Operate
- Long-term performance can be handed to Organics
Find out if OTAR Electric suits your site.
Tell us about your wastewater and we'll be in touch within 4 hours to see if recovering ammonia with electricity is a fit.
No obligation. We reply within 4 hours.