Amfer (Colsen)

Process & contact 

AMFER (Colsen)

www.colsen.nl

Contact: Jan Willem Bijnagte This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Input materials

 Nitrogen recovery from ammonia rich stream such as fresh manure/slurry or digestate (unseparated or liquid fraction)

Output products

Solution of ammonium sulphate (AS) or ammonium nitrate (AN)

Concentration is up to 75 g/l for AS and 150 g/l for AN (50:50 NH₄:NO₃).

The mineral nitrogen compound solution can be used as a commodity chemical or as a mineral N fertiliser.

Process description

Ammonia is removed from the liquid to a gaseous stream pH increase achieved heat (60-70°C) and by CO₂ stripping and/or chemical dosing pressure, then recovered by contact with sulphuric or nitric acid.

Ammonia removal can facilitate use of manure or digestate (lower N content), avoid atmospheric ammonia losses, and improve aerobic treatment or biogas production (if applied upstream of treatment or digester).

Around 50% - 80% of ammonia in substrate is recovered.

Contaminant levels in the recovered N product are not analysed to date.

Operating status

 Three full scale plants are operating since 2021:

- Van Alphen – Axel NL(30 000 t/y ww digestate)

- Bio-gas Veendam – Veendam NL (30 000 t/y ww digestate)

- Green Create W2V Kent – Kent UK (170 000 t/y ww digestate).

Containerised installations are available treating up to 43 000 t/y ww.