WIRELESS AND POWERLESS NITROGEN REMOVAL FROM WASTEWATERS BY USING SACRIFICIAL ANODES.

RODRÍGUEZ SIMÓN, CARLOS NORBERTO; BONANNI, PABLO SEBASTIAN; BUSALMEN, JUAN PABLO

Los cocos

Congreso; SAMIGE 2022; 2023

SAMIGE

Excess nitrogen contained in wastewaters as ammonium, nitrate and nitrite is deleterious for natural receiving waterbodies. To avoid negatively impacting the environment these species must be removed to comply with local regulations before final disposal. Different methods are available for removing nitrogen from water, including chemical, physicochemical and biological ones. Biological methods are the most widespread making use of nitrifying and denitrifying microorganisms, but are typically limited by the availability of oxygen for nitrification or electron donors for denitrification. In this work we present a new method for simultaneously removing ammonium, nitrate and nitrite from water, based on the use of magnesium sacrificial anodes galvanically coupled to denitrifying biocathodes. In this method magnesium anodes dissolution provides both, electrons for fueling bioelectrochemical denitrification in microbiological cathodes, coupled with current generation, and magnesium cations for removing ammonium as struvite ((NH4)MgPO4), with the concomitant phosphorus removal and the obtention of this valued fertilizer as extra benefits.Profiting on the natural potential difference between magnesium dissolution and biological denitrification, the new method does not require an external power source and can be implemented totally wireless. The content of this work is protected through patent document INPI 1828981.