The combined SHARON ANAMMOX process

Researcher:

ing. Udo van Dongen,

phone +31 15 27 82425
e-mail: L.G.J.M.vanDongen@tnw.tudelft.nl
Supervisors: prof.dr.ir. M.S.M. Jetten
prof.dr.ir. Mark C.M. van Loosdrecht
Institute:
Delft University of Technology, Department of Biotechnology
Project term: April 1998 - October 2001
Financed by: STOWA
Introduction
Due to higher discharge standard for N-removal, new techniques for treating wastewaters with
high ammonium concentrations
(such as sludge digester effluent)
have been developed.
One of these techniques is the
combined
Sharon
Anammox
process. With this system sludge
digester effluent can be treated
separately. In this way the N-load
of a WWTP can be decreased
substantially. Figure 1 shows a
flow schedule of the WWTP
Dokhaven in Rotterdam (NL) with
a combined Sharon Anammox
Process.
Figure 1: flow schedule of the WWTP Dokhaven with the combined SharonAnammox Process

Principle
The principle of the combined
processes is that the NH4-N in the
Sludge digester effluent is oxidized
in the Sharon reactor to NO2-N for
only 50%. The mixture of nitrite
and ammonia is ideally suited as
influent for the Anammox process
where ammonium and nitrite is
anaerobicly converted to N2-gas
and water. Figure 2 shows the
principle
of
the
combined
processes.
Figure 2: flow schedule of the combined Sharon and Anammox proces

Results on Sharon
A Sharon reactor was started up and fed with Sludge Digester effluent. A 50 % conversion of the
ammonium presented was found at a temperature of 35 C and a HRT of 1 day, without pH
correction. The average results of this conversion are shown in table 1.

Parameter

Value

Unit

NH4-N
influent

1156
( 160)

mg/l

NH4-N
effluent

519
( 164)

mg/l

NO2-N
effluent

547
( 151)

mg/l

N-load

1.07
( 0.3)

kg
N/m3/day

Results on Anammox
During the same period an Anammox reactor was
started up as a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR).
During the startup the Anammox was fed with a
synthetical medium with an increasing fraction of
Sharon effluent. Finally, the Anammox reactor was fed
with only Sharon effluent.

Conclusions
- A Sharon reactor converted ammonia in sludge
digester effluent to nitrite for more than 50%.
- An Anammox sequencing batch reactor removed
nearly all nitrogen from the Sharon effluent.
- The combined Sharon Anammox process is a very
promising technique to reduce the nitrogen-load of a
WWTP without the use of any additional chemicals.

Table 1: Conversion in the Sharon reactor

Project outcome
Application of the Sharon and the anammox process for Nitrogen removal
Van Dongen LGJM, Jetten MSM & Van Loosdrecht MCM. 2001. The Combined
Sharon/Anammox Process. IWA Publishing, ISBN: 1 84339 000 0.
Van Dongen U, Jetten MSM & Van Loosdrecht MCM. (2001). The SHARON-Anammox process
for treatment of ammonium rich wastewater. Water Sci Technol 44(1): 153-160.

Design and construction of the first full scale anammox installation in the world at
WWTP Sluisjesdijk (Rotterdam, NL)
Web resources

The anammox online resource

Anammox microbiology
Application of the anammox process