Microvi Biotechnologies has recently completed a collaborative trial with Thames Water Utilities of its Microvi MNE wastewater treatment, which demonstrated that MNE outperformed the ammonia removal performance of existing nitrifying sand filters.
The fully automated MNE demonstration plant was configured as a tertiary nitrification system for ammonia removal. Operating between 5-22° C, MNE consistently removed ammonia from wastewater during continuous operation.
MNE showed resilience in performance with temperature, variability in flow, process shutdowns and rates of load change. It intensified the treatment process and under all conditions easily met less than 1 mg/l effluent ammonia with the majority at less than 0.2 mg/l. The process also did not increase suspended solids across the reactor.
Andrea Gysin, Head of Research, Development and Innovation at Thames Water, said: “Microvi have taken an innovative approach to wastewater process intensification by engineering natural biological processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. The trial demonstrated that MNE outperformed the ammonia removal performance of our nitrifying sand filters, providing us with a viable solution to augment process performance to meet increasingly stringent consents.”
