Two Decades of Experience with the Granular Sludge-Based ANAMMOX® Process Treating Municipal and Industrial Effluents

This paper is a review of 20 years full-scale experience with the granular sludge-based ANAMMOX process. The process biological deammonification for energy-efficient removal ammoniacal nitrogen, which has been successfully applied on dewatering reject liquors from biosolids sludge digesters (e.g., mesophilic anaerobic digestions, codigestion, thermal hydrolysis (THP)) and nutrient-rich anaerobically treated industrial effluents fermentation industry, food industry). continuously operated using biomass. highly active concentrated biomass allows compact reactor systems fast start-up. Long term operations various case studies show stable performance reactors treating municipal effluents, achieving nitrogen (NH4-N) in excess 90% at low high loading rates up to 2.5 kgNH4-N/(m3·d). Some special aspects micro-nutrients, inhibition, alkalinity consumption) wastewaters are discussed detail. demonstrated be resilient handling upsets off-spec wastewater composition.