E2.07 White 2019 ReNUWIt Annual Meeting Poster

Anammox, short for anaerobic ammonium oxidation, are group of
+- chemolithoautotrophic bacteria that use NH4 as an inorganic substrate, NO2 ,
as an electron acceptor and inorganic carbon, like HCO -, for carbon fixation. 3
They occur naturally in marine environments are estimated to contribute 30%- 50% of N2. They have the potential to be used in wastewater treatment to treat high ammonium waste streams such as anaerobic digester effluent because they do not require oxygen, are slow growing and produce little sludge, and have no greenhouse gas production. In this study we are operating an upflow reactor to cultivate biomass for nitrite inhibition batch experiments. Anammox bacteria can grow suspended in substrate, in granules or in biofilms. The upflow reactor utilized in this study started off as suspended biomass and transitioned into a biofilm. Biofilms are useful for reactors because they retain biomass and prevent washout of cells. Overall the reactor has maintained stable performance and averaged an ammonium removal rate of 97.4% and a nitrite removal rate of 98.5%.