Ammonia recovery from nitrate-rich wastewater using a membrane-free electrochemical system

Gong Zhang, Binggong Li, Yanfeng Shi, Qi Zhou, Wen-Jie Fu, Gang Zhou (), Jun Ma, Shuo Yin, Weihao Yuan, Shiyu Miao, Qinghua Ji, Jiuhui Qu and Huijuan Liu ()
Additional contact information
Gong Zhang: Tsinghua University
Binggong Li: Tsinghua University
Yanfeng Shi: Tsinghua University
Qi Zhou: Beijing Institute of Technology
Wen-Jie Fu: Guangxi Normal University
Gang Zhou: Hohai University
Jun Ma: Tsinghua University
Shuo Yin: The University of Dublin
Weihao Yuan: The University of Dublin
Shiyu Miao: Tsinghua University
Qinghua Ji: Tsinghua University
Jiuhui Qu: Tsinghua University
Huijuan Liu: Tsinghua University

Nature Sustainability, 2024, vol. 7, issue 10, 1251-1263

Abstract: Abstract Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction has great potential for simultaneously achieving ammonia recovery and nitrate-rich wastewater treatment. However, the complexity of wastewater matrices has long hampered its implementation and commercialization in the wastewater treatment industry. Here we develop a membrane-free electrochemical system, called electrochemical NO3− conversion synchronized with NH3 recovery (ECSN), which synchronizes nitrate reduction with ammonia recovery for treating real nitrate-rich wastewater. Key components of this system include a 3D-printed metallic glass decorated Cu–Ni (MPCN) working electrode bearing good corrosion resistance and a UV-assisted stripping unit. When treating real electroplating wastewater, the ECSN system converts over 70% of nitrate into high-purity ammonia chloride. Long-term stability test demonstrates the robustness of the ECSN system in treating real wastewater. Further, the economic feasibility and environmental benefits of this system are evidenced by technoeconomic analysis and life-cycle analysis. Overall, this work brings the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction process one step closer to practical application, contributing to both environmental protection and the circularity of anthropogenic nitrogen flow.

Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01406-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natsus:v:7:y:2024:i:10:d:10.1038_s41893-024-01406-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/natsustain/

DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01406-7

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Sustainability is currently edited by Monica Contestabile

More articles in Nature Sustainability from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().