Research Area: Nutrients

Our Objective

WRF will identify, assess, and make recommendations to improve sustainable wastewater nutrient removal and recovery technologies. WRF will provide information to help agencies meet receiving water body requirements and other wastewater treatment goals, such as climate change, sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. The research will inform regulatory decision making, and help practitioners comply with increasingly high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus removal, with a focus on improving plant performance.

Latest News

The Water Research Foundation Signs Memorandum of Understanding with EPA to Advance Nutrient Management Efforts

Building on The Water Research Foundation’s (WRF) decades-long research on nutrients in America’s waters, WRF and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to increase understanding of how smart partnerships and market-based approaches can be used to reduce excess nutrients in the nation’s waterways.

WRF Biosolids Research Featured in TPO Magazine

Research Project NTRY11T15 looks to define and help enable the production of high quality, publicly-accepted biosolids.

WE&RF Awards Research Contract to Create Modeling Guidance for Developing Nutrient Goals

WE&RF recently awarded a contract to Brown and Caldwell to create Modeling Guidance for Developing Site-Specific Nutrient Goals – Demonstration, Screening Level Application (LINK4T17).

WE&RF Awards Research Contract to Investigate Newly Discovered Bacteria in Nitrification Processes

The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation recently awarded a contract to Northeastern University to perform a research project entitled Estimating the Comammox Contribution to Ammonia Oxidation in Nitrogen Removal Systems (U4R16).

Water Environment & Reuse Foundation Awards Contract to Develop Scientifically Sound Nutrient Goals

WE&RF recently awarded a contract to LimnoTech to develop scientifically sound nutrient goals.

Products & Tools

Optimization and Design of a Side-Stream EBPR Process as a Sustainable Approach for Achieving Stable and Efficient Phosphorus Removal (U1R13)

This research examines a new side-stream EBPR process (S2EBPR) that uses a side-stream anaerobic biological sludge hydrolysis and fermentation reactor to address the common challenge in EBPR related to weak wastewater influent and to improve EBPR process stability.

Impact of EBPR on Dewaterability (NUTR5R14d)

This research evaluates the impact of chemical conditioning to improve or recover the dewaterability of digested solids, both enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) solids and non-EBPR solids, in terms of cake concentration and interstitial water.

Nationwide Meta-omics Survey of Denitrifying Microbial Communities in Wastewater Treatment Systems (U3R12/4878)

This research serves as a pilot for future meta-omics studies on full-scale wastewater processes and addresses some long-standing and high-priority questions associated with wastewater denitrification.

Integrated Management of Animal Manure Wastes: Nutrient Recovery, Bio-Fertilizers, Enhanced Biomethane Production and Management Tools (STAR_N3R14c/4856c)

This research uses a life-cycle analysis to determine the water and energy use, and nutrient balance impacts of anaerobic digestion (AD) systems.

Technologies for Dairy Nutrient Recovery: Evaluation of Low-impact Ammonia Stripping with Bio-Fertilizer Recovery and Support for Technology Decision Making (STAR_N3R14b/4856b)

This study assessed the use of pilot- and commercial-scale ammonia stripping systems within the context of a proposed sequential manure treatment system of anaerobic digestion, coarse fiber separation, fine solids separation, and ammonia stripping.