Water board Hollandse Delta, water technology firm Paques and water research institute STOWA officially started the Cenirelta-project to demonstrate a promising new energy-efficient waste water treatment technology producing a very clean effluent.

The demonstration project is being carried out in the underground municipal treatment plant Dokhaven in Rotterdam (620,000 population equivalents).

The project partners closely cooperate with Delft university of technology and Radboud University Nijmegen.

Cenirelta is financially supported by European Union's Life+ programme.

Low-temperature waste water
CENIRELTA is the acronym for cost-effective nitrogen removal from waste water by low-temperature Anammox, based on anaerobic treatment of waste water with Anammox bacteria (Anaerobic ammonium oxidation).

Anammox is a proven process at a temperature of 30-35 degrees Celsius and at high nitrogen loads. For this demonstration project the process has been refined to work at low temperatures (10 - 20 oC) and low nitrogen concentrations.

Underground wwtp Dokhaven, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Minimum carbon footprint
The Anammox process is a major breakthrough in nitrogen removal. Compared to conventional nitrifation/denitrification, operational costs are reduced by up to 90% as are CO2 emission levels. This brings the plant’s carbon footprint down to a minimum.

Delft University of Technology has played a leading role in the development of the Anammox process. Paques has patented the process for commercial purposes and already built 11 plants worldwide.

This news item was originally published on the websites of Waterschap Hollandse Delta and Stowa/cenirelta (in Dutch only).

Granules containing Anammox bacteria.

Water technology experts involved in the cold Anammox demo project (from left to right): Andy Schellen (waterschap Hollandse Delta), prof. Mark van Loosdrecht (TU Delft), Jans Kruit (Paques) en Cora Uijterlinde (STOWA).