A review on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions during biological nutrient removal from municipal wastewater and sludge reject water

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is an important pollutant which is emitted during the biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes of wastewater treatment. Since it has a greenhouse effect which is 265 times higher than carbon dioxide, even relatively small amounts can result in a significant carbon footprint. Biological nitrogen (N) removal conventionally occurs with nitrification/denitrification, yet also through advanced processes such as nitritation/denitritation and completely autotrophic N-removal. The microbial pathways leading to the N₂O emission include hydroxylamine oxidation and nitrifier denitrification, both activated by ammonia oxidizing bacteria, and heterotrophic denitrification. In this work, a critical review of the existing literature on N₂O emissions during BNR is presented focusing on the most contributing parameters. Various factors increasing the N₂O emissions either per se or combined are identified: low dissolved oxygen, high nitrite accumulation, low chemical oxygen demand to nitrogen ratio, slow growth of denitrifying bacteria, uncontrolled pH and temperature. However, there is no common pattern in reporting the N₂O generation amongst the cited studies, a fact that complicates its evaluation. When simulating N₂O emissions, all microbial pathways along with the potential contribution of abiotic N₂O production during wastewater treatment at different dissolved oxygen/nitrite levels should be considered. The undeniable validation of the robustness of such models calls for reliable quantification techniques which simultaneously describe dissolved and gaseous N₂O dynamics. Thus, the choice of the N-removal process, the optimal selection of operational parameters and the establishment of validated dynamic models combining multiple N₂O pathways are essential for studying the emissions mitigation. - Highlights: • Processes related to AOB and denitrification are the major N₂O contributors in BNR. • DO is the most important operational parameter affecting the N₂O generation. • Emission factor calculation is affected by scale and operational design. • N₂O measurement, quantification and reporting procedures should be standardized. • Full-scale modeling should include all microbial pathways and N₂O stripping.