What is Ammonia?
Ammonia (NH₃) is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, which creates a pungent and colorless gas. It is used in fertilizers, nitric acid, and, and some cleaning products. Additionally, ammonia can be used as a starting material for explosives and pharmaceutical products.
While ammonia is essential in many processes and harmless in low levels, it requires careful control due to its toxicity and environmental impact.
Why is Monitoring Ammonia in Drinking and Wastewater Important for Treatment Optimization?
Ammonia is toxic to aquatic life. In high levels, ammonia can disrupt ecosystems by impairing respiration in fish and excessive algae growth. Algal blooms prevent sunlight from reaching aquatic life and plants, leading to potential death.
Ammonia can enter aquatic environments directly through wastewater effluent and indirectly through agricultural runoff and industrial discharges. If untreated, ammonia may accumulate in the tissues and blood of aquatic life. In addition, unmanaged ammonia poses risks to drinking water and can result in regulatory non-compliance.
This is where monitoring ammonia becomes essential.
Ammonia monitoring allows wastewater facilities to optimize their treatment process with real-time results, while reducing energy and chemical consumption.
Online Ammonia Monitoring
Traditional methods rely on grab sampling and lab analysis, which can be costly and time-consuming. Online ion selective electrode (ISE) eliminates labor costs and additional delays by providing continuous, real-time measurements. The benefits of ISE-based online systems include:
- Rapid response for immediate process adjustment
- Ease of integration with other automated analysis and control systems
- Reliable performance across a wide concentration range.
MANTECH’s online MO systems uses advanced ISE technology to deliver accurate, real-time ammonia measurements. The MO systems provide fast feedback and send alerts via remote network or email notifications. This allows operators to make actionable decisions, leading to treatment efficiency. The MO500 is most applicable for one to two parameters while the MO1000 can measure more parameters.
