Biological phosphate removal from wastewater with oxygen or nitrate in sequencing batch reactors

The objective of this research was to test the feasibility of using nitrate as sole electron acceptor for biological phosphate removal from wastewater. Two sequencing batch reactors, one with nitrate and the other one with air to supply oxygen, were used to develop two sets of acclimated biomass. It was shown that it was possible to induce biological phosphate removal with nitrate alone, confirming the ability of denitrifying bacteria for this process. A preliminary comparison, however, suggested that nitrate may be less efficient than oxygen for phosphate uptake.