Biological nutrient removalprocesses

The nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) create down-stream problems, upset the ecological balance, can lead to detrimental impact on man's activities and to the water resources. Nitrogen and phosphorus have been identified as the potential pollutants for degradation of water bodies and aquatic environment and it becomes necessary to remove the nutrients from the wastewater streams before they are being discharged. The biological nitrogen/phosphorus removal is possible which is also a cost effective alternative for advanced wastewater treatment for both domestic and industrial effluents. A brief review on the applicability of the processes such as Bardenpho, anaerobic/oxic (A/O), Anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A²/O), etc., has been discussed here. For this review, it is concluded that biological nutrient removal is most competitive in warmer climates, but will perform well when the mixed liquor temperature remains above 10 ͦC.