D.3 - Sustainable remediation / Environmental footprint FEASIBILITY OF ENRICHING ANAMMOX BACTERIA USING ACTIVATED SLUDGE FROM TWO WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a promising biotechnology suitable for the removal of nitrogen from wastewaters. A proper choice of the seeding sludge and operational conditions is critical when dealing with the start-up of a new anammox reactor. The objective of this research was to evaluate the feasibility of enriching anammox bacteria using two different sources of activated sludge. Both sludges were obtained from full-scale treatment plants targeting N-removal from high strength wastewater. The monitoring of the reactors was carried out according to N-compositional variables and also by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of the functional gene encoding for the hydrazine-oxidizing enzyme (hzo), which is specific of anammox bacteria. The combined analysis of both macroscopic and microscopic data demonstrated that anammox bacteria could be enriched using activated sludge from a treatment plant processing pig slurry in Catalonia.