In
practice, the complete autotrophic nitrogen removal or partial-nitritation
(PN) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) process (PN/A) has
gained immense popularity and widespread application owing to its
low operational cost and better treatment possibilities. However,
ANAMMOX-based systems are inhibited by numerous factors that pose
enormous challenge to the success of this technology. Hence, in lieu
of finding optimum operational strategies, a PN/A sequencing batch
reactor for treating high-strength ammonia wastewater obtained from
an anaerobic digester was evaluated for 400 days. The impact of processing
unit cycle strategies on process performance was evaluated with the
amalgamation of intermittent feeding and aeration. The ecofriendly
and eco-efficient system, adopted in this study, ensured enhanced
cost-effective nitrogen removal along with reduction in greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions underlying stringent regulation. Nitrogen removal
rate of 81% along with 68% reduction in GHG emissions compared to
the conventional nitrification/denitrification system (29% lower than
the last reported ANAMMOX system) was successfully achieved. The key
concerns in negating the impacts of ANAMMOX inhibition caused by the
seven most influential parameters/mechanisms are also addressed.