Abstract

To address risks to environmental quality, nutrient limits in treated wastewater are mandated by many countries and regions, particularly where the final effluent is to be discharged into a water body. Various techniques are deployed to remove nutrients in centralised wastewater treatment systems, including chemical dosing (for phosphorus) and biological nutrient removal (for phosphorus and/or nitrogen). These techniques are generally unsuited to decentralised wastewater treatment, since they rely on process controls or chemical interventions that require specialist training and frequent maintenance.