Enhanced ammonia removal from skim latex using air bubbles in an agitated column

Abstract

AbstractThe initial aim of the paper is to improve the ammonia removal efficiency from skim latex using air stripping in an agitated column. The effects of air flow rate, bubble sizes, types of impellers, and rotational speed were investigated. The results showed that ammonia decreased with the increased air flow rate and the decreased bubble size. More ammonia could be removed by the use of impellers at a low rotational speed. The axial flow impeller showed higher ammonia removal than that gained from the radial flow impeller. It could be concluded that the stripping process in an agitated column should be operated at an air flow rate under the homogeneous regime without pH and temperature adjustment. The use of axial flow impeller at a rotational speed below the turbulent flow is recommended for more ammonia removal. In addition, smaller bubbles than the working range proposed in this research should be avoided because of foaming formation of the skim latex.