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
Number of pages19
JournalWater (Switzerland)
Volume14
Issue number21
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

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

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals