Catalytic Performance of Electro-Oxidative Natural Manganese Sand for Ammonium Nitrogen Removal

Asim Khan; Syed Faizan Abbas; Asad Ali; Yahya Naveed; Abdul Sami; Muhammad Saleem Khan; Khurram Shahzad Ayub

Authors

Asim Khan National Engineering laboratory for industrial wastewater treatment, East China university of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Syed Faizan Abbas Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Asad Ali School of Engineering, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
Yahya Naveed Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Abdul Sami Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Gujrat, Pakistan
Muhammad Saleem Khan Department of chemical engineering NFC Institute of engineering and technology, Multan, Pakistan
Khurram Shahzad Ayub Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Gujrat, Pakistan

Keywords:

Electrochemical Oxidation, Manganese Sand Catalyst, Ammonium Nitrogen Removal, Wastewater Treatment, Sustainability

Abstract

The environmental risks associated with ammonium nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N) pollution have led to a growing focus on prevention. Electrochemical advanced oxidation is an effective and eco-friendly method that only requires electricity and electrolytes to remove NH₄⁺-N from wastewater. This study assesses the effectiveness of electro-oxidative natural manganese sand (NMS) in removing ammonium nitrogen under different conditions. Due to NMS’s high redox potential, it significantly enhanced the electrochemical oxidation process, increasing NH₄⁺-N removal and generating reactive chlorine species (ClO⁻/HClO) when NaCl was added. The experiment was also conducted without a catalyst, quartz sand, and natural manganese sand, but NMS removed 86.4% of NH₄⁺-N, outperforming the other treatments. The removal efficiency was tested at five different pH levels (3, 5, 7, 9, and 11), with NMS showing the highest efficiency of 95.2% at pH 9. At a current density of 15.5 mA/cm², the removal rate reached 94.9%, and with a NaCl concentration of 9 g/L, the removal efficiency peaked at 96.2%, driven by increased production of reactive chlorine species (ClO⁻). These results demonstrate the electro-oxidative NMS system as a highly efficient, scalable, and eco-friendly solution for ammonium nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment.

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