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Nitrogen compounds,particularly in the form of ammonia,constitute a significant fraction of the polluting organics in domestic and industrial wastewater streams, which may cause serious environmental problems, including eutrophication. The major challenge affecting the performance of the wastewater treatment process worldwide is the efficient and cost-effective removal of nitrogenous compounds, especially ammonia. The anammox process represents a cost- effective and environmentally-friendly technology for ammonia removal from wastewater. Technology has currently been employed for biological nitrogen removal from different wastewater streams at the full-scale level, globally. In South Africa, though the initiative was taken by different research groups to develop anammox reactors, it has never been successful due to the lack of anammox culture enrichment and appropriate technology transfer.
Aims: The project aims to upscale the single-stage moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) PN/A system to a pilot-scale system and to study the feasibility of the system to treat the anaerobic sludge digester effluent under real-time operational conditions.
Objectives:
1. To design and start up a 200L biofilm- based partial nitritation-anammox reactor using anaerobic sludge digester effluent
Development of a sustainable and efficient nitrogen removal process for the wastewater sector process has been identified as a low- cost alternative process of nitrogen removal from wastewater. Therefore, this technology has the potential to address the energy deficit being created by the over 1 000 activated sludge systems currently in use nationwide and alleviate the energy burden created by wastewater treatment on the already stressed national grid.The development of a functional pilot-scale, side stream PN/A process locally has the potential for a scale-up of the developed technology, targeting high-strength industrial wastewater streams.The project encompasses human resource capacity development in novel and specialised technology. The project will also facilitate scientific collaboration between the local municipality (eThekwini) and DUT in developing anammox technology for the South African water sector.
This project is a first-of-its-kind pilot-scale PN/A process for ammonia removal in South Africa, which has the potential to inform the criteria for a full-scale demonstration set up and retrofitting of all existing activated sludge.This will result in substantial energy savings for the water sector and in the development of a sustainable low- cost technology for ammonia removal from wastewater.
Dr Sheena Kumari and Prof Faizal Bux Dr Oluyemi Olatunji Awolusi, Dr Khalid Muzamil Gani and Mr Kiprotich Eric Kosgey Tel: 031 373 2346 | Email: iwwt@dut.ac.za
2020-2022
1051017.61
