Are your effluent ammonia levels increasing?

We are hearing reports of nitrification challenges and other issues from wastewater operators.

A possible cause may be an increase in disinfectants and sanitizers being flushed at hospitals, nursing homes, businesses, restaurants and homes due to the growing threat of COVID-19.

Improving Wastewater Nitrification and Ammonia Removal

Nitrifying bacteria play an essential role in wastewater treatment by converting ammonia into nitrate through the nitrification process.

These microorganisms are highly sensitive to changes in operating conditions. Healthy nitrifier populations generally require appropriate temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and other environmental conditions to remain active.

Because nitrifying bacteria are sensitive to toxic compounds and sudden process changes, declining nitrification can also serve as an early indicator of a toxic shock or biological upset within a wastewater treatment system.

Why Mean Cell Residence Time Matters for Nitrification

Nitrifying bacteria grow relatively slowly compared with many other microorganisms found in activated sludge.

For this reason, wastewater treatment plants typically need to maintain an adequate mean cell residence time (MCRT) to develop and sustain a healthy population of nitrifiers.

Changes in wastewater characteristics, increased loading, or other environmental stresses can disrupt nitrifying bacteria and reduce ammonia removal efficiency.

When nitrification begins to decline, operators may need to adjust treatment strategies to maintain reliable biological performance and meet discharge permit requirements.

Case Study: Nitrification Problems at a 6 MGD Wastewater Treatment Plant

One example involved a 6 MGD wastewater treatment plant that began experiencing a sudden decline in nitrification.

Influent ammonia concentrations remained consistent with normal operating conditions. However, the nitrifying bacteria were no longer removing ammonia effectively.

Despite the facility's regular treatment program, effluent ammonia concentrations remained above the permitted level.

Nitrification Challenges Create Treatment Capacity Problems

The facility also faced a common wastewater treatment challenge: limited process capacity.

When nitrification becomes less efficient, additional treatment time may be required to achieve the necessary ammonia removal.

For this 6 MGD facility, the longer processing time began creating throughput constraints. The plant needed a way to restore nitrification without significantly increasing the amount of treatment time required.

Bioaugmentation for Wastewater Nitrification

BioLynceus® recommended ProBiotic Scrubber® NN as part of a bioaugmentation strategy to support the facility's nitrification process.

ProBiotic Scrubber® NN contains a diverse population of live microorganisms selected to support ammonia oxidation and biological nitrification.

Because every wastewater treatment system operates under different conditions, product application rates should be based on facility-specific factors such as:

• Influent ammonia concentrations
• Wastewater flow
• Temperature
• pH and alkalinity
• Dissolved oxygen
• Existing biomass conditions
• Treatment system configuration

BioLynceus® works with wastewater professionals to determine an appropriate treatment and application strategy for each facility.

Supporting Nitrifying Bacteria with ProBiotic Scrubber® NN

BioLynceus® provides concentrated populations of live microorganisms designed to support wastewater treatment processes and improve biological performance.

ProBiotic Scrubber® NN contains multiple types of nitrifying bacteria to help support ammonia oxidation when existing nitrifier populations become stressed or depleted.

Keeping a bioaugmentation product available on-site can also provide wastewater operators with an additional tool for responding quickly to unexpected nitrification problems, ammonia spikes, or biological upsets.

Be Prepared for Nitrification Problems

Loss of nitrification can quickly affect a wastewater treatment plant's ability to meet ammonia discharge limits.

Having ProBiotic Scrubber® NN available for rapid bioaugmentation can help facilities respond when nitrifying bacteria are lost or treatment performance declines.

If your wastewater treatment facility is experiencing high effluent ammonia, reduced nitrification, or difficulty maintaining a stable nitrifying biomass, BioLynceus® may be able to help develop a treatment strategy for your system.

Contact BioLynceus® at 970-586-3391 to discuss your wastewater nitrification challenges.