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-----Ammonium Nitrate Treatment
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could give me some suggestions on how to treat small amounts (< 5 gal) of ammonium nitrate which will be discharged into our POTW. Thank you very much!
Mike Grayenvironmental chemist - Jamestown, NY, US
July 16, 2008
If it has not been used to strip Cadmium or some similar use, dilute it and spray it on the lawn. It is fertilizer, so why waste it?
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
July 16, 2008
July 17, 2008
I don't think so, James. I think Mike is probably referring to an industrial chemical that is largely ammonium nitrate, rather than chemically pure ammonium nitrate.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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Treat it for what?
If you mean treatment for the removal of heavy metals that are in it, adjust the pH to about 8.5, and add a sufficient amount of a sulfur based precipitant (sodium sulfide, DTC, etc) to bring the metals down to an acceptable level. Then add floc to drop solids, and decant.
If you mean to remove the NH4NO3, the best way to do that is a biological process. Mr Watts has a pretty good suggestion; if there's contamination that forbids the release of the liquid into the environment, you could perhaps have a dedicated "lawn" in a container. Of course, you must then get rid of the grass, which might pick up certain pollutants.
Five gallons really is a spit in the ocean for even a small POTW...can't you just sewer it?
Dave Wichern
Consultant - The Bronx, New York
July 18, 2008
Mike, tell us what you really have.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
July 17, 2008
July 18, 2008
Good afternoon:
Assuming that this isn't a hazardous waste, or covered under categorical discharge requirements, the first thing to do is refer to your discharge permit (assuming you have one), and see what procedures the POTW has in place for one time/infrequent discharges. It may be as simple as calling the responsible person at the POTW for written permission to put it down the pipe. Before you contact the POTW, make sure you can answer how the wastewater was generated, what's in it, pH, frequency of generation, and volume.
If its something that you're wanting to discharge on a more frequent basis, you may be asked to amend your permit.
- St Louis, Missouri
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