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OCTOBER 2010

Harrison Grierson continues its programme of providing financial support of research projects and mentoring of students studying at the University of Auckland's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This year, senior process engineers from Harrison Grierson have collaborated with University staff and students to target research into the treatment of high strength ammonia wastes produced from the process of stabilising sludge generated at municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Results from this year's project have been very interesting and have increased the scientific understanding of nitrification, the microbiological process that converts ammonia, the toxic species of nitrogen to the less harmful nitrate species. These findings have important implications on the process design of the wastewater treatment process and the overall energy budget for a treatment plant. It is considered that the results are also transferable to industrial processes producing high strength ammonia wastes such as the meat and hide processing industries.