EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POWDERED ACTIVATED CARBON/
ACTIVATED SLUDGE SYSTEM IN REMOVING AMMONIA FROM AN
ORGANIC CHEMICAL PRODUCTION WASTEWATER
Neil A. Leipzig, Envi ronmental Engineer
Salsbury Laboratories
Charles City, Iowa 50616
Salsbury Laboratories (Salsbury) has its corporate headquarters and the major portion of
its production facdities located in Charles City, IA. Activities at this location include research, development and production. Products are specialty organic chemicals and animal
health products.
The chemical production division produces approximately 40 different cyclic organic
compounds. These compounds are used in the animal health products, textile, dye, plastics,
rubber and metal finishing industries. Typical chemical processes include: arsonations,
nitrations, esterifications, oxidations, chlorosulfonations, amidations, acid chloride reactions,
hydrolysis, salts of carboxylic or sulfonic acids and diazotizations. Production is on a batch-
type basis with all except one of the 40 chemical compounds being produced on an intermittent production schedule.
The batch-type reactions, frequent changes in production scheduling and the diversity
of organic compounds produced, all present problems in effectively treating the chemical
production wastewater.
Currently, Salsbury discharges its chemical production wastewater to the local municipal
wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The WWTP has secondary treatment capabdity in the
form of a trickling filter. Salsbury's pretreatment has historically included neutralization,
solids removal, hydraulic and organics equalization of the total chemical production wastewater along with arsenic removal from a segregated process wastestream. Recently, Salsbury
installed a macroreticular resin adsorption system  for the removal of selected organics.
The average chemical production wastewater can be characterized as an industrial wastewater yellowish-orange in color with a daily flow of approximately 0.3 million gallons. It
is of moderate organic strength and of moderate to high ammonia strength. It contains a
variety of organics, present in widely varying amounts, and a number of inorganic and organic
arsenic compounds. Characterization of the wastewater during the period 1977-80 resulted
in the pollutant levels listed in Table I.
In September, 1976 Salsbury initiated an investigation into the treatability of its chemical
production wastewater.
Table I. Major Characteristics of the Chemical Production Wastewater (1977-1980)
Average
Parameter
Concentration
Flow, MGD
0.30
Total Organic Carbon, mg/1
620
5-Day Biochemical Oxygen Demand, mg/1
730
Color, CPU
3000
Phenols, mg/1
40
Arsenic, mg/1
9.1
Ammonia, mg/1 as N
110
889