Ammonia removal and recovery from landfill leachate via intensified stripping and absorption using a high-performance rotating reactor

The increasing global demand for nitrogen, driven by growing food production, highlights the need for efficient ammonia recovery from wastewater. Inadequate treatment of landfill leachate not only causes environmental issues but also results in the loss of valuable nitrogen. This study investigates the use of a High-Performance Rotating Reactor (HP2R) combined with a scrubber unit for ammonia removal and recovery from landfill leachate. The effect of gas flow rate (Q_G), leachate flow rate (Q_L), and leachate temperature (T_Li) on the ammonia removal (η_removal) and recovery efficiency (η_recover) at a constant rotating speed of 900 rpm was evaluated. The total leachate recirculation time to achieve 95 % of η_removal was from 1.5 to 4 h, corresponding to the variation of K_La from 0.74 to 2.48 h^-1. The η_recover fluctuated from 67.1% to 84.8 %, influenced by ammonia concentration in the gas phase. The optimal operational condition to achieve 95 % of η_removal and 80 % of η_recover was defined at Q_G of 200 L/min, Q_L of 0.2 L/min, rotational speed of 900 rpm, and T_Li of 30–40 °C. High ammonia concentrations (1930–3360 mg/L) solution were recovered, presenting a potential alternative source for ammonia production.