<![CDATA[Ammonia contamination in water poses serious ecological risks, while commercial bioremediation agents remain costly for widespread application. This study evaluated the technical and economic performance of a self-formulated biological agent made from golden apple snail shells and banana pseudostems for ammonia removal. A laboratory-scale preliminary experiment used 500 mL batch reactors containing synthetic wastewater in a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial design without replication, comparing EM4 and the self-formulated agent at initial ammonia concentrations of 10, 30, and 50 ppm over 1, 2, and 3 days. Ammonia was measured by the Nessler spectrophotometric method and analyzed using ANOVA GLM. The self-formulated agent showed performance comparable to EM4, with both achieving more than 80% removal under suitable conditions. Removal efficiency was influenced by the interaction between ammonia load and contact time, while cost analysis indicated a potential 92.1% saving. Further replicated pilot-scale studies with abiotic controls and real wastewater are recommended.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
