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Nitrogen Cycling in the Course of Biological Treatment of Wastewater in wetlands—An Analysis

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Anammox Technology in Industrial Wastewater Treatment

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Abstract

Nitrogen is abundant in the atmosphere (almost 80%) and remains in highly stable and non-reactive forms, yet it is the sole source in the ecosystem. The reactive forms like ammonium, nitrite and nitrate act as nutrients and are, thus, very essential for plant growth, but their content is limited in the soil system. Hence, aerial nitrogen is utilized in the form of fertilizer for food production and supply as protein through the food web to various trophic levels. After the death of organisms, consortiums of microorganisms take the responsibility to return back the bound nitrogen to the atmosphere following some sequences of reactions. Hence, nitrogen cycling is important for maintaining nitrogen balance in the ecosystem. Nitrogen, especially the domestic wastewater is mostly found in organic form with negligible number of oxidative forms. The conventional wastewater treatment does not involve any separate nitrogen removal process. It is only removed by natural biological treatment process including steps of ammonification, nitrification, eutrophication and denitrification. Together with this, some bio-induced physical processes like sedimentation, volatilization, de ammonification (anammox) and sequestration might play a significant role in nitrogen balancing in the atmosphere. However, during the process of biological removal of nitrogen from wastewater it might release some amount of nitrous oxide gas, increasing the greenhouse gas footprint. Hence, it is urgently necessary to highlight the more sustainable pathways for nitrogen recovery and reusing in the course of conventional as well as natural wastewater treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Engineering & Management, University Area, Plot No. III, B/5, New Town Rd, Action Area III, Newtown, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700160, India

    Sonali Paul, Camellia Mazumder, Aditi Biswas, Aratrik Roy & Susmita Mukherjee

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  1. Sonali Paul
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  2. Camellia Mazumder
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  3. Aditi Biswas
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  4. Aratrik Roy
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  5. Susmita Mukherjee
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Correspondence to Susmita Mukherjee .

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  1. Environmental Microbiology Lab, Gujarat, India

    Maulin P. Shah

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Paul, S., Mazumder, C., Biswas, A., Roy, A., Mukherjee, S. (2023). Nitrogen Cycling in the Course of Biological Treatment of Wastewater in wetlands—An Analysis. In: Shah, M.P. (eds) Anammox Technology in Industrial Wastewater Treatment. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3459-1_8

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