Nitrification

- The need to oxidize ammonia (NH4-N) and nitrite (NO2-N) in wastewater treatment
arises from water quality concerns over the effect of ammonia on receiving water with
respect to DO concentrations and fish toxicity, the need to provide nitrogen removal
to control eutrophication, and the need to provide nitrogen control for water-reuse
applications including groundwater recharge (for reference, the current drinking
water maximum contaminant level for nitrate is 45 mg/L as nitrate or 10 mg/L as
nitrogen).

- Nitrification is the term used to describe the two-step biological process in which one
type of autotrophic bacteria oxidize ammonia to nitrite (NO2-N) and a second type of
autotrophic bacteria oxidize nitrite to nitrate (NO3-N). Nitritation is the term used to
describe a biological process with oxidation of NH4-N to only NO2-N.

- Nitritation is as key factor in processes that reduce or eliminate carbon requirements
for nitrogen removal. These include the SHARON Process and the ANAMMOX Process.
Nitritation may also occur in activated sludge simultaneous nitrification-
denitrifcation (SNdN) systems or biological fixed film systems treating influent
wastewater under limited dissolved oxygen conditions.

- As with BOD removal, nitrification can be accomplished in both suspended growth and
attached growth biological processes. For suspended growth processes, a more
common approach is to achieve nitrification along with BOD removal in the same
single-sludge process, consisting of an aeration tank, clarifier, and sludge recycle
system. In cases where there is a significant potential that the wastewater may
contain toxic and inhibitory substances, a two-sludge suspended growth system may
be considered. The two-sludge system consists of two aeration tank and two clarifiers
in series with the first aeration tank/clarifier unit operated at short SRT for BOD
removal. The BOD and toxic substances are removed in the first unit, so that
nitrification can proceed unhindered in the second. A portion of influent wastewater
usually has to be bypassed to the second sludge system to provide a sufficient amount
of solids for efficient solids flocculation and clarification.

- Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) are aerobic
chemoautotrophs because they use CO2 for their carbon source and require dissolved
oxygen to oxidize an inorganic compound (NH4-N or NO2-N) to obtain energy.

- Stoichiometry of Biological Nitrification: The energy-yielding two-step oxidation of
ammonia to nitrate is as follows:
Nitroso-bacteria (Nitritation):
2NH4+ + 3O2 2NO2- + 4H+ + 2H2O

Nitro-bacteria:
2NO2- + O2 2NO3-

Total oxidation reaction:
 NH4+ + 2O2 NO3- + 2H+ + H2O

Based on the above total oxidation reaction, the oxygen required for the complete
oxidation of ammonia is comprised of 4.57 g O2/g NH4-N oxidized, 3.43 g O2/g NH4-N
for oxidation of NH4-N to NO2-N, and 1.14 g O2/g NO2-N for NO2-N oxidation to NO3-
N. 2 moles of alkalinity are consumed per mole of NH4-N oxidized, which is equal to
7.14 g of alkalinity as CaCO3 consumed per g of NH4-N oxidized [2 x (50 g
CaCO3/eq)/14].

- Environmental Factors:
Dissolved Oxygen Concentration: Nitrification rates are affected by the liquid DO
concentration in activated sludge. Nitrification rates increase up to DO
concentrations of 3 to 4 mg/L.
Hydrogen-Ion Concentration (pH): Optimal nitrification rates occur at pH value in
the 7.5 to 8.0 range. Ammonia oxidation rates decline significantly at pH values
below 7.0. To minimize possible inhibitory effects on low pH on nitrification rates,
it is common to try to maintain an operational alkalinity value of 50-60 mg/L as
CaCO3, with a corresponding pH of 6.8 or greater.

- All the considerations involved in BOD removal and nitrification process design can be
applied to a BOD removal-only design by modifying the SRT and removing items that
deal with nitrification.

- Complete-Mix Activated Sludge Process: Effluent from the primary sedimentation
tank and recycled return activated sludge are introduced typically at several points in
the reactor. Because the tanks contents are mixed thoroughly, the organic load,
oxygen demand, and substrate concentration are uniform throughout the entire
aeration tank and the F/M ratio is low.

- Sequencing Batch Reactor Process: Utilizes fill-and-draw reactor with complete mixing
during the batch reaction step (after filling) and where subsequent steps of aeration
and clarification occur in the same tank. All SBR systems have five steps in common,
carried out in the following sequence: (1) fill, (2) react (aeration), (3) settle
(sedimentation/clarification), (4) draw (decant), and (5) idle. For continuous-flow
applications, at least two SBR tanks must be provided so that one tank receives flow
while the other completes its treatment cycle. A unique feature of the SBR system is
that there is no need for a return activated sludge (RAS) system, because both aeration
and settling occur in the same tank.

- Staged Activated Sludge Process: Activated sludge processes can be designed with
baffle walls to intentionally create several complete-mix activated sludge zones
operating in series. Long, narrow aeration tanks referred to as plug glow activated
sludge systems may also have 3 to 4 effective stages depending on the tank layout and
aeration mixing characteristics. For the same total reactor volume, a system with
reactors in series can provide greater treatment efficiency than a single complete-mix
reactor, or provide a greater treatment capacity. The oxygen demand varies in staged
complete-mix reactor designs and can be high enough in the first stage to challenge
 the volumetric oxygen transfer capability of aeration equipment. Most of the rbCOD
will be consumed in the first stage, and the OUR for pCOD degradation will decrease
from stage to stage as a function of the degradation kinetics. The nitrification rate
could be at a maximum zero-order kinetic rate in the first and second stages, due to
higher NH4-N concentrations in the early stages. Oxygen demand for endogenous
respiration will be relatively constant from stage to stage.