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Nitrate removal from drinking water with a focus on biological methods: a review

  • Water Industry: Water-Energy-Health Nexus
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Abstract

This article summarizes several developed and industrial technologies for nitrate removal from drinking water, including physicochemical and biological techniques, with a focus on autotrophic nitrate removal. Approaches are primarily classified into separation-based and elimination-based methods according to the fate of the nitrate in water treatment. Biological denitrification as a cost-effective and promising method of biological nitrate elimination is reviewed in terms of its removal process, applicability, efficiency, and associated disadvantages. The various pathways during biological nitrate removal, including assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction, are also explained. A comparative study was carried out to provide a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification. Sulfur-based and hydrogen-based denitrifications, which are the most common autotrophic processes of nitrate removal, are reviewed with the aim of presenting the salient features of hydrogenotrophic denitrification along with some drawbacks of the technology and research areas in which it could be used but currently is not. The application of algae-based water treatment is also introduced as a nature-inspired approach that may broaden future horizons of nitrate removal technology.

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Abbreviations

USEPA:

United States Environmental Protection Agency

MCL:

Maximum contaminant levels

WHO:

World Health Organization

EEC:

European Economic Community

RO:

Reverse osmosis

IX:

Ion exchange

ED:

Electro dialysis

CD:

Chemical denitrification

BD:

Biological denitrification

SBA:

Strong base anion

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

HRT:

Hydraulic retention time

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

BOD:

Biological oxygen demand

C/N:

Carbon-to-nitrate

DOC:

Dissolved organic carbon

DBP:

Disinfection byproduct

BER:

Bio-electrochemical reactor

O&M:

Operations and maintenance

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the University of Tehran under grant number 8104956/1/03, KRIBB Research Initiative Program, and the Advanced Biomass R&D Center (ABC) of the Global Frontier Program funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning (2010-0029723).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNESCO Chair on Water Reuse, Biotechnology Group, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, P.O. Box: 11155-4563, Tehran, Iran

    Fariba Rezvani & Mohammad-Hossein Sarrafzadeh

  2. Biotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran

    Sirous Ebrahimi

  3. Cell Factory Research Centre, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea

    Hee-Mock Oh

Authors
  1. Fariba Rezvani
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  2. Mohammad-Hossein Sarrafzadeh
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  3. Sirous Ebrahimi
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  4. Hee-Mock Oh
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Correspondence to Mohammad-Hossein Sarrafzadeh or Hee-Mock Oh.

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Responsible editor: Gerald Thouand

Highlights

• Technical and cost comparison of several approaches of nitrate removal from drinking water, including physicochemical and biological techniques

• Expression of the salient features of autotrophic nitrate removal, especially hydrogenotrophic denitrification over other methods

• Refer to the application of microalgae-based water treatment as a nature-inspired approach for water treatment

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Rezvani, F., Sarrafzadeh, MH., Ebrahimi, S. et al. Nitrate removal from drinking water with a focus on biological methods: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 1124–1141 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9185-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9185-0

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