Patent ID: 7135116

Claim:
A process for treating a wastewater effluent of either anthropogenic, agricultural, or organic origin comprising an ammonium ion species and a phosphorus species, the process comprising the steps of: (i) treating the effluent in a first stage of the process to convert the phosphorus to a phosphorus-containing salt at a pH of about 8.4 or higher; (ii) treating the effluent in a second stage of the process to convert the ammonium ion species to gaseous ammonia, wherein step (ii) comprises regulating the pH of the effluent to be greater than about 10.0; (iii) removing the phosphorus-containing salt from the effluent; and (iv) stripping the gaseous ammonia from the effluent at the pH of step (ii) with a carrier gas in a device providing a liquid covered surface area.