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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Alkalinity and dissolved oxygen as controlling parameters for ammonia removal through partial nitritation and ANAMMOX
Samik Bagchi1, Rima Biswas, Tapas Nandy
1Wastewater Technology Division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Nagpur 440020, India. samikbagchi@gmail.com
Abstract:
The oxidation of ammonia to dinitrogen through partial nitritation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) in a single-stage bioreactor is based on suppressing the nitratation process. The single-stage process operated on a laboratory-scale fixed film bioreactor achieved ammonia removal of 0.7 kg NH4-N/(m(3) day) at 4 h hydraulic retention time (HRT) by controlling the nitratation process through a 'three-way control mechanism' comprising control of electron donor (nitrite), electron acceptor (oxygen) and carbon source (bicarbonate). The control of alkalinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in feed to maintain an alkalinity to ammonia ratio of less than 8 and DO loading of less than 0.06 mg O/(mg N day), respectively, was necessary for inhibiting nitratation and enhancing partial nitritation and ANAMMOX. Therefore, feed alkalinity along with DO concentrations are critical controlling parameters in a single-stage biological process for nitrogen removal.
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