A Sequential Anammox Zeolite-Biofilter for the Removal of Nitrogen Compounds from Drinking Water

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

The ever-increasing consumption of ammonium fertilizer threatens aquatic environments and will require low-power water treatment processes. With a focus on the treatment of drinking water, the scope of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a sequential Anammox zeolite-biofilter with an anaerobic river and tap water mixture (NH 4 +: 4.3 mg/L; NO 2 : 5.7 mg/L). When the filter velocity was set to 0.032 m/h, NH 4 + and NO 2 were removed with efficiencies of 86% and 76%, respectively. Remarkably, lowering the substrate concentrations and operating temperatures only resulted in a minor reduction in the efficiencies of nitrogen removal compared to wastewater treatment plants. The coupling of the zeolite and Anammox processes influenced the NO 2 /NH 4 +-ratio as the zeolites removed NH 4 + at a higher rate. Reliable process monitoring can be achieved by correlating the electrical conductivity and the removal of nitrogen compounds (R 2 = 0.982). The WHO threshold values of all nitrogen compounds could be met using this setup, and thus, it could lead to a significant improvement in drinking water quality around the world. Thus, the Anammox zeolite-biofilter is promising as a cost-effective and low-power technology, especially for decentralized use in threshold and developing countries, and should therefore be the subject of further investigation.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number3512
Pages (from-to)3512
Number of pages19
JournalWater (Switzerland)
Volume14
Issue number21
Publication statusPublished - 2 Nov 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85141828021
Mendeley a4845a1a-d927-361a-a363-cb57ee83e701
ORCID /0000-0001-5186-3955/work/142251449

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals