Anaerobic Removal of Ammonia Nitrogen by an Autotrophic Reactor with Fixed Film Opering in a Sequential Batch

This study presents results of ammonia nitrogen oxidation in absence of molecular oxygen. They were obtained after the operation of a sequential batch anaerobic reactor with fixed film. After the inoculation with sludge from an anaerobic stabilization pond of a slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant, the reactor was fed with a synthetic culture media, as described by Martins (2007), in order to establish ideal conditions for growth and development of Anammox culture. The duration of the batch was established in accordance with the increase of removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen. Thus, the result of batch 1 showed to be the most satisfactory in terms of average removal per day, it was obtained a value of removal of 57,1% for duration of the batch of 3 days. The ratio of Ammonia-N : NO2—N concentration that was more close of ideal was of 1: 0,28 during the fifth batch. Despite the low values obtained for removal and the occurrence of a contamination by OD after the 40th day of operation, there was evidence of the feasibility of removal of ammonia nitrogen in absence of oxygen molecular.