Ahmed, what do you mean by ...

Ahmed, what do you mean by "high", in terms of mg/L ammonia?

I have seen sand filters used for ammonia removal from groundwater but these have a large footprint. I have developed a high-rate process, based on expanded bed biofilm reactor (EBBR) technology. Although developed for tertiary treatment of wastewater, the same process could be used for ammonia removal from raw water (surface or ground water). The key to the process is to supply sufficient dissolved oxygen to fully oxidise the ammonia to nitrate, and sufficient dissolved bicarbonate for the nitrifying bacteria to fix enough carbon for growth.

During tertiary treatment of activated sludge settled effluent, the EBBR process was able to reduce the average ammonia concentration to 0.4 mg/L (as NH3-N), from an average inlet concentration of 21 mg/L. At times, it reduced it to 0.1 mg/L. The process also removed >50% of the residual organic matter (BOD), most likely through the activity of heterotrophic bacteria; >60% TSS and >85% bacteria, most likely through the activities of protozoa and rotifers; and 40-60% of the synthetic oestrogen, ethinyl oestradiol (EE2), most likely through hydroxylation by ammonia mono-oxygenase. 

The process is not yet commercially available but we have developed it to Technology Readiness Level 7 (prototype package plant). Nevertheless, if you would like further information, please contact me at m.dempsey@mmu.ac.uk.