Optimization and investigation of anammox process using existing models and experimental approaches

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process has become popular as energy saving, and cost-effective biological nitrogen removal because it shortens the ammonia removal cycle, and directly converts ammonium (NH4+) to nitrogen gas using nitrite (NO2−) as an electron acceptor. During recent years, mathematical models explaining interactions between autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), anammox bacteria and denitrifiers proved to be substantial for cost reduction, optimization of the system performance and operating conditions. In this work, experimental and mathematical modeling approaches were combined to investigate mechanisms influencing system performance and microbial consortia dynamics in granular and biofilm reactors.