Biological nitrification as an effective ammonia removal process

Biological nitrification is a two-stage process responsible for oxidation of ammonium (NH4+) into nitrates (NO3-) via nitrite (NO2). The two sequential stages involved in the nitrification process are the oxidising of ammonium into a nitrite (nitritation) and the subsequent oxidising of the nitrite into a nitrate (nitratation). The biological nitrification technology applied within the MELiSSA cycle has been found to be the most effective ammonia removal process due to: 1) high removal efficiency; 2) high process stability and reliability (an easy-to-control process); 3) reduced environmental impact; 4) moderate costs; and 5) no need for added chemicals.