Biological Wastewater Treatment - Nutrients

Biological Wastewater Treatment Problems? Yara delivers the nutrients you need. Biological wastewater treatment uses bacteria to degrade and decompose organic materials contained in waste water.

Industrial wastewater often contains large amounts of organic matter (BOD, COD).This can be removed by a biological wastewater treatment process assuming, that there is the sufficient amount and the proper type of nutrients available, along with other factors that influence the process’ biology. If your biological wastewater treatment process is not performing, it is critical to target and fix the root cause: your system’s microbial community.

Industrial wastewater often lacks sufficient amount of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients for microbial communities to achieve the biological activity level required for biological purification. It is therefore necessary to add extra nitrogen and phosphorous to get the process to work properly.

Which products are the best suited to your facility and your biological purification process?

This depends on variable such as your purification process type, system size, system load compared to the dimensioning, dosing equipment available, etc.

With over 100 years of pioneering nitrogen chemistry and over 20 years’ experience working with the waste water treatment sector, you can count on Yara’s know-how to help solve your problems.

Yara experts work with you to find the optimal solution for your process. Proper nutrient selection and dosage benefits may include the following.

Economic benefits of nutrient dosage in biological wastewater treatment processes

  • Reduced operating and maintenance costs.
  • Reduced need for expensive capacity expansion investments.

Process optimisation benefits of nutrient dosage in biological wastewater treatment systems

  • Increased treatment efficiency due to higher activity in the biomass and improved sludge separation.
  • Easier and better sludge dewatering due to reduced growth of filamentous bacteria, improved flocculation and higher sludge concentration.
  • Stable operation and easier process monitoring.

Yara delivers the nutrients you need.

Katrie Oldfield
Katrie Oldfield
Sales Coordination Manager

Yara can help you identify the cause of your biological wastewater treatment process problem

There are many factors that influence the optimal biology in a biological purification process. One of the most important factors is the availability of nutrients. What is the right amount of nutrients for your process? This depends on the amount of organic material that is biodegradable and on your system's operating conditions.

Biological wastewater treatment problems commonly related to:

insufficient nutrients too much nutrients
  • Reduced cleaning effect
  • Extensive growth of unwanted bacteria
  • Excess of extracellular polymer production
  • Hydrolysis of sludge
  • Long start-up time and reduced gas
    production in anaerobic systems
  • Emissions of nutrients to the recipient
  • Unwanted biological growth
  • Luxury uptake of phosphorus
  • Increased sludge production
  • Increased chemical costs

Could your industrial wastewater treatment process performance be optimised?

Industrial wastewater can vary greatly in both ints composition and its need for the addition of external nutrients. Municipal wastewater usually contains more than enough nitrogen and phosphorus for optimal biology.

The following industry sectors produce effluents that may need the addition of external nutrients to a greater or lesser extent:

  • Pulp and Paper production (wood)
  • Oil Refining / petrochemical industry
  • Brewery
  • Fruit and vegetable processing
  • Textile Industry
  • Chemical industry
  • Pharmaceutical industry
  • Condensation
  • De-icing fluid from airports