INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND ORGANIC CARBON ON DENAMMOX PROCESS

To understand the stability and reliability of Anammox-denitrification (denammox) process, effect of short term temperature (10–35°C) and organic carbon (1–800 mg/L) variation was explored in three laboratory scale reactors. Activated sludge and anaerobic granules were as used as inocula. Solid biodegradable plastic and propionate were used as external carbon sources. The FISH and PCR analysis were applied to confirm the presence of anammox bacteria. Results showed that reactor R1 exhibited the only conventional denitrification whereas reactors R2 and R3 consisted of denammox process. Reactor temperature was found to strongly influence nitrogen removal in denammox process. For example, decrease in experiment temperature by 10°C reduced the nitrogen removal efficiency by 40%. On the other hand, this process demonstrated >95% removal efficiency at