Towards Energy Efficiency Through Low-DO Nitrification: Extending our Knowledge of Ammonia-Oxidizing Organisms

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1435661NogueraTowards Energy Efficiency Through Low-DO Nitrification: Extending our Knowledge of Ammonia-Oxidizing Organisms In wastewater treatment activated sludge is a common process. Activated sludge is the single largest energy user because of the amount of oxygen that is needed to maintain aerobic (oxygen rich) conditions. This proposal seeks to identify and characterize the novel organisms that perform ammonia oxidation under low-DO conditions and thereby reducing the cost of the process. The hypothesis is that unrecognized ammonia-oxidizing organisms are likely responsible for nitrification in low-dissolved oxygen activated sludge systems. If this study is successful it will result in a significant reduction in energy costs for many wastewater treatment plants in the Nation. The project will also allow the PIs to continue mentoring high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and will fund the training of two PhD students from underrepresented groups in science and engineering.Technically, the project is divided into three tasks which include; 1) screening a collection of pure cultures isolated from a lab-scale reactor performing efficient nitrification, 2) focused on the identification of the abundant ammonia-oxidizing organisms in lab-scale reactors, and 3) conduct kinetic experiments to characterize the microbial communities in pilot-scale reactors coupling and treating primary effluent from a full scale wastewater treatment plant. The effective coupling of enhanced biological phosphorus removal and low-dissolved oxygen nitrification will be a transformative development, since aeration for nutrient removal can account for nearly half of the energy use. This project will enable development of new technologies that contribute to the wastewater industry's overarching goals of achieving energy neutrality and shifting the focus from waste treatment to resource recovery facilities.