Nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, are essential for all living organisms. However, excess amounts of nutrients in wastewater often result in eutrophication that may deplete oxygen, promote harmful algal bloom, and even create dead zone for aquatic organisms. Therefore, nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater should be adequately treated before discharge. Additionally, there are growing interests to recover nutrients and energy from wastewater to reduce treatment costs and improve the sustainability of wastewater treatment systems.

This course introduces the fundamental knowledge and practice of biological nutrient removal in wastewater treatment and prepares students for designing biological nutrient removal systems. At the end of the course, students are expected to understand general principles of biological nitrogen removal and biological phosphorus removal, apply the knowledge to select the best unit process to remove nutrients, apply the knowledge to select the best unit process to recovery resources, and analyze and evaluate biofuel systems.