Nutrient Removal: One Size Does Not Fit All

Meeting effluent nutrient limits requires knowledge of your plant and what works best for it. So your plant just got saddled with nutrient limits. Unsure of how you can meet those limits? No problem, just turn to Page XX in Reference Manual ABC, right? Wrong. Or at least partially wrong. While a lot of good reference material is found in various manuals of practice, design manuals, textbooks, and published papers, no single source of information has the answer to every nutrient removal situation. It really takes a combination of understanding the principles of nutrient removal and alternatives available, coupled with knowledge of local conditions. This article will attempt to explain these basic principles and discuss the alternative treatments.