Electrodialysis Process to Reduce the Concentration of Nitrates in Waters

Abstract

Nitrates and nitrites are natural components of the environment and contribute to the nitrogen cycle on Earth. Although nitrogen is essential for life, nitrogen compounds are among the main pollutants in the ecosystem. High concentrations of nitrogen compounds in the groundwater are primarily caused by human activity mostly in the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture. Common health risks associated with higher concentrations of nitrates give rise to methemoglobin, which negatively affects mainly infants, and the potential formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines. This paper summarizes the results of laboratory tests of electrodialysis to remove nitrates from the model water. For the model solutions we used NaNO3 and NaNO3 with NaCl with a concentration of nitrates of approximately 1000 mg/l. The aim of the test was to achieve a concentration of nitrates corresponding to the limit for drinking water, which is 50 mg/l. The tests were carried out in the batch mode, and semi-continuous mode. All the tests have demonstrated the effectiveness of nitrate removal around 90%.