Evaluation of nitrogen elimination in anammox granular system for the treatment of industrial wastewater effluents

Abstract

The present doctoral thesis focuses on the application of the single-stage partial nitritation-anammox (PN-AMX) processes with granular biomass for the removal of nitrogen from three hot-topic anaerobically digested industrial wastewater effluents, namely: fish-canning wastewater, pig slurry and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). These wastewater streams are characterized by high concentrations of nitrogen and organic matter, and thus its treatment with the PN-AMX processes, as well as the performance of the biological processes, were assessed during the operation of laboratory scale reactors. The gathered experimental data will improve the start-up and applicability limits of the biological processes at full-scale, allowing the fulfillment of the increasingly stringent discharge requirements for these industrial effluents.